Yesterday, I had the pleasure of conducting a
follow-up interview with world class sprinter Justin Gatlin. One reason for the
second chat was that our TrackSide editor, Travis Masters, felt there were some
topics that could be added. As it turns out, there were some large topics, and
they will make this upcoming article unique. Fortunately, Justin is an active
participant in the TrackNation movement. In fact, he’s probably the most recognizable
face of the organization. Only for this reason was it possible to call back and
ask for a redux.
Anyhow, Travis had drawn up a few questions, and I
was somewhat baffled by a couple of them. “Do you follow track? Are you a track
and field fan?” At face value, they looked like throwaways. Then again, I don’t
know Mr. Gatlin as well as Travis does. Even the simplest question turned out
to be worthy of a well thought out response. More importantly, it was original
and worth listening to, a rarity in the cliché filled world of sports
interviews.
I’m not going to reveal the other topics of our
discussion here, because it will be available on TrackSide (www.tracknation.com) in the next few
weeks.
However, while talking with Gatlin, on a whim and while we were
discussing track fandom, I mentioned that I had seen a Cuban pole vaulter on
TV last Saturday. Her name is Yarisley Silva, and she may become the “next big
thing” in track.
Since Justin watches many other events besides the
ones he runs (the 100, 200 or 400 relay), he had a lot to offer with regard to
Silva and the women’s pole vault. “It’s unbelievable what’s happening there.
When I was coming up, Stacy Dragila (2000 Olympic gold medalist and world
record holder on numerous occasions) was the big name. Now, the women are just
pushing the bar up.”
At last Saturday’s Drake Relays, Silva, a silver
medalist at the 2012 London Games, took it to American vaulting ace Jenn Suhr.
In the process, she cleared 15’10.75” (4.85 m.) a remarkable height which just
edges Dragila’s best (keep in mind that Dragila was like Wayne Gretzky, just WAY
ahead of her competition), and also set the Cuban, Caribbean and Central
American records.
After clearing the winning height, Silva called it a
day, and opted to not make attempts at a higher standard.
In my continuing quest to become an “ace” reporter,
I figured that she could be a potential interview, and got to work on this
endeavor at 10 PM last Saturday night. With nowhere else to turn, I did a
cursory search on Facebook. And there she was, with a fan page.
I sent a message to the page. Ten minutes later, I received
a friend request from her friend Lilian. Just noticing that the request was
from Cuba was enough to tell me that I had made a connection. As it turned out,
we ended up chatting for 30-45 minutes.
About ten minutes into our chat, a message notice
popped up. It was Yarisley. She had typed a short note mentioning that I should
talk with her friend, who helped her out with “media stuff” and that when she
knows what I’m looking for, we could be in contact. Actually, it was more of a “how
can we help you?” type of note. Lilian, in particular, was gracious and ready
to answer all of my questions. Problem was, I didn’t have any yet!
Here’s the tale of the tape. Yarisley Silva is just
25. She has been vaulting for seven years, but couldn’t find many quality track meets
until she was good enough to participate outside of Cuba, where her main
competition is the bar itself. Case in point, she has improved from 4.40 to 4.85 in
the past four years, and is just entering her peak ages. I have posted a video
of Yarisley in action on the “Wall” viewer.
The sky is the limit for Miss Silva. Keep an eye out
for her as this outdoor season continues and the World Championships take place
in Moscow next summer. She's got it going on.
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