Passing (over) the bar/ 72-year-old attorney vaults from back yard

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jul 26, 2002 by Tim Mimick

Being the best in the pole vault never drove Jerry Donley to wild training schedules and unique acts.

However, just being a pole vaulter drove him to assemble a pole vault runway, bar and pit in his family's tree-lined Colorado Springs back yard.

"Yeah, sometimes the men who collect the garbage come by and wonder what is going on," Donley said Thursday afternoon during practice. "Everybody usually just leaves me alone, though."

Even now at 72, Donley favors this event in his sport of choice: track and field. That's why the friendly, spry, 6-foot-1, 150- pounder is training for the Rocky Mountain State Games, which are Aug.2-4 at the Air Force Academy and a few locations in Colorado Springs.

Donley, a practicing attorney in town, said he never was the best pole vaulter as a youth in Castle Rock, in high school near Milwaukee, at Beloit College or as an adult. He just enjoyed the event, along with the long jump and high jump, which he also entered for the State Games.

He's too modest. He won the 2001 USA Masters 70-and-over division in Baton Rouge, La., with an effort of 9feet, 21/4inches. The closest competitor was nearly 2feet lower.

He's also beaten some of the national age division records set by Boo Morcom, who's held many marks. Morcom still owns the 65-and- older (12-41/2) and 70-and-older division records (10-41/2).

In the latest Masters world rankings based on 2002 performances, Donley is second in the 70s division.

Donley's new wife, Christel, also will compete at the Games in the high jump, shot put and 100 meters.

Their involvement in USA Masters Track brought them together last summer after years of a sporting relationship. Donley's first wife died a few months earlier. On a trip to Australia, Jerry and the 67- year-old Christel found their love for each other developing.

She was a "national-level athlete in track and field who grew up in Germany and came to the United States in about 1960. In 1965, she settled in California, just when Masters Track was taking off. She's a very good athlete."

Donley took a liking to pole vaulting in 1940 at a "grade-school county meet." A tree was cut down to fashion a pole for the pole vault. He saw "these eighth-grade studs" pole vaulting and I said, "I want to do that."

While in college in Wisconsin, he cleared a career-high 13-9 on a thick bamboo pole. By the time he was a senior, he was handed a "Swedish metal pole, which was built like a javelin. Much thinner. I could get my hands around it better."

He got away from the sport while pursuing his law degree, but picked it up again in 1974. Fiberglass was the rage in poles. It allowed him in a Masters competition at age 53 to clear 13-7.

He moved to Colorado Springs in 1954. In 1973, some of his children became intrigued with the pole vault. He built a pole vault area in the back yard with mattresses and foam rubber for them. About 10 years ago, he splurged to add the wood-and-rubber runway and a fancy large landing pad like those at sanctioned meets.

When he wanted to move to a new home a year ago, he sold the house on Alamo Avenue to his son - with the stipulation of keeping the vault area.

Whenever Donley has the chance, he practices a few times a week.

"My best in the past few years has been 9-6," Donley said. "If I could get 10 feet, I'd be a happy camper."

At his vault area, he thinks he would be favored over many other vaulters. The runway cuts diagonally across the back yard for about 90 feet; he uses a 60-foot run to the bar. He feels that his best speed is reached at that distance.

"If I could back up another 10 feet, then I could use a bigger pole (than his 12-4 or 13-1 poles) and move my grip up," he said. "Then, I'd go higher.

"For me, it is great. For beginners, it's great. For an experienced vaulter, it's a little unstable. I might be the only one to (run his usual distance on the approach to the bar and) still get his pole through the backyard gate."

He and his wife also volunteered to staff the State Games field events. He's helped with the Above The Bar Track Club, which has boosted area prep vaulters to the state meet.

The Rocky Mountain State Games will give him a chance to compete against a volume of good athletes that usually doesn't swarm to a meet within 500 miles of Colorado Springs. He said a USA Track motto of "A Sport For Life" should ring true with these athletes, who'll see older competitors enjoying their sports.

"People ask me why I do this," Donley said. "It's fun."

- Tim Mimick may be reached at 636-0365 or tmim@gazette.com

ROCKY MOUNTAIN STATE GAMES

Sports: Archery (male and female); badminton (male, female and coed); basketball (male, female); billiards (male, female); field hockey (female and coed); inline hockey (coed); martial arts (male, female and coed); racquetball (male, female); soccer (male, female); softball (male, female); table tennis (male, female, coed); track & field (male, female); triathlon (male, female); weightlifting (male, female); wrestling (male, female).

Entry fees: $25 and up for adults, $10 and up for youths; $45- $250 for teams.