I just received this email from the Company. Congrats to Ms. Phil Rashker on her achievement!!!
Essx first & Second World Record Vault W50
Dear Friends,
We are very happy and wish to CONGRATULATE Ms. Phil Rashker of Atlanta, Georgia for her World Record for Women over 50.
She was using a newly designed vaulting pole for women.
Attached is her press release and testimonial.
Good Luck towards 11' it is well in your reach!
Bruce Caldwell President and CEO EssxSport Corp.
Essx Earl Bell designed Vaulting Pole is produced by Essx Track and Field Equipment Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of EssxSport, Corp. www.essxsport.com/
* Press Release * Press Release * Press Release * Press Release *
RASCHKER UPS WORLD POLE VAULT RECORD - TWICE!
Using a new proto-type fiberglass pole made specifically for women paid off in a way that may have even surprised
PHIL RASCHKER.
The new Earl Bell (former World Record holder and Olympian) pole manufactured by EssxSportâ is so new that
some have never heard of it. But if they needed an early testimonial to its hoped-for success they got it at the Nevada Senior Olympic State Championships held in Las Vegas October 10th.
Raschker, spokesperson for Custom-Viteâ, who had to pass up the World Championships in Gateshead, England earlier because of Achilles problems, but who had come back to win the National USATF vault in Orlando, was a whole lot more than just a winner in Vegas. Somewhat dubious about starting in on an unknown pole, the W50 world record holder (10'2", 3.10m) elected to start at eight feet, quite a bit below her winning height at the Nationals (9'6", her best vault of the season).
Vaulting at each successive elevation of the cross-bar, she cleared 8'6", 9'0", and 9'6" on her first efforts. She had equaled her best of the year with only four vaults. 'I think I'm really beginning to get a good feel for this pole', Raschker exclaimed as she had the bar moved to an even ten-feet. The meager crowd in attendance cheered in
unison as she went over on her first try.
Asking now that the bar be moved to a new W50 world record height of 10'2 «" (3.11), a single centimeter over her own record established two years ago in winning the world title at Durban, South Africa. Now she had the entire
attention of everyone left in the stadium. Bowing back and rolling into a tight ball against the resistance of the pole, she extended her feet upward and the pole, seemingly in an effort to rid itself of this tiny woman, flung her up and over the bar with plenty of air-space.
Landing in the pit and doing her patented backward roll, she stood upright, hands overhead applauding with the rest
of the excited spectators and exclaimed, 'I can go higher!'
Moving the bar to 10'6" (3.20m), and with little hesitation on the runway, she sprinted toward the pit and duplicated
her effort of only minutes before. (New World Record W50) Only this time the effort was worth 101.2% on the age-graded scale for a woman of 52 years.
Raschker, 5'4" at 115lb, in spite of consistently performing at a high ninety-percentile range in a multitude of events for years had never "gone over the top" by performing higher than the experts said was ever possible. Since no person can ever perform at an age-graded level more than a hundred-percent, this will cause the factor to be changed. When asked how she felt after such a performance, Raschker, in her typical low-key response, replied, "Does that really prove what a good vaulter I am, or just that the statisticians underestimated what a 52 -year old women can do?"
That statement could have some reasoning behind it. But when you consider that the next highest vault ever be a
woman over fifty is by Pat McNabb, former Olympian from England is a full foot below Raschker's mark, one must
wonder if Raschker did not, in fact, prove that she is, indeed, "a good vaulter!"
Prior to her vaulting she had already competed in (and won) six other events: Triple Jump (33' 1¬", 90.2%), Long Jump (15' 7 «"), High Jump (4' 10"), Shot Put (30' 3"), 100m (:13.46) and 200m (:27.44).
Written By Phil Mulkey
1960 Olympian
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