*********************************************************
The Pole Vault World According to Gus Volume #4 Issue #15
1999 IAAF World Championships from Seville, Spain
Pre-Preview Issue 08/16/99
*********************************************************

Contents

    Introduction
    Championship News
        Chistyakov vaulting for the Aussies?
        Emma George Injured
    Championship Schedule
    TV Coverage
    Internet Coverage
    US World Championships Entrant Biographies
    Coming Up Next...
    VaultStuff

============
Introduction
============

Shagadelic baby! The World Championships are almost upon us. I don't know
about you folks but I hate that one year out of every four where there
aren't any World Championship or Olympic meets. The Goodwill Games are
pretty cool and all but there's nothing like a world or olympic gold medal
to make vaulters reach for the sky. YEAH BABY YEAH!

This is only a preview to the preview edition. There are no predictions
(Shawn? Hink? Anyone?) or startlists (not available at this time) yet - they
will follow shortly in the real preview edition later this week.

=================
Championship News
=================

Already there have been major happenings that have affected the
Championships - even our beloved pole vault. Fortunately the vault has not
been tainted by a drug scandal (cross your fingers) or race-fixing, but
nonetheless there have been some drastic events.

I have already reported to you about the withdrawl of the only man ever to
win the World Championship Pole Vault crown, Sergei Bubka, so I won't bore
you by repeating them...

--------------------------------------------------
Athletics-Russian vaulter to compete for Australia
--------------------------------------------------

LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Former Russian pole vaulter Viktor Chistyakov has
cleared up confusion over whom he will represent at this month's world
athletics championships by saying he would compete for Australia, officials
said.

A spokesman for Athletics Australia said on Friday that Chistyakov had
officially notified them of his decision in their favour.

``He's told us today he will represent Australia,'' spokesman Brian Roe said
from Monte Carlo. ``Athletics Australia is delighted with the decision.''

Chistyakov has lived in Australia since 1996 and was granted citizenship
this week.

He has not represented Russia for three years but Russian athletics chief
Valentin Balakhnichyov said this week he had a letter from the vaulter
saying he would still like to represent Russia at the Seville championships.

Chistyakov's wife Tatiana Grigorieva was already in the Australian pole
vaulting team and he said in a statement that it was logical for him and his
wife to compete for the same country.

...BUT...

--------------------
From: AOL Sports
MOSCOW, Aug 13, 1999
--------------------

Russian athletics chief Valentin Balakhnichyov has contested a move by
pole vaulter Viktor Chistyakov to represent Australia at next week's world
athletics championships.

Chistyakov, who has lived in Australia since 1996, was granted Australian
citizenship this week and is is a leading medal contender in Seville.

Balakhnichyov said he had a letter from Chistyakov saying he would like to
compete for Russia.

``Well, we just have to wait and see,'' Balakhnichyov said. ``But we are
not going to let others steal our athletes.''

------------------------
Emma George Injured
From ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA
------------------------

Emma George Injury - Full Report

Pole Vault World Record holder Emma George had a training accident on Monday
afternoon at her training camp near Bellinzona in Switzerland.

She landed on her back on the track after missing the bags on landing.

She was taken to hospital where she had thorough checks for fractures and a
series of tests for other injuries. She had no broken bones and her coccyx
is not fractured. The results of other tests will be known over the next day
or so but no significant injury is anticipated.

She was released on Tuesday during the day and has been able to walk around
quietly. She says that she feels very much better than yesterday but fully
accepts the advice of the doctors who have treated her to take it easy for
the next few days.

She will be restricted to pool training in the immediate future and will
miss her scheduled competitions in Stockholm on Friday night and Hechtel on
7th August, her two remaining competitions prior to Seville.

Team doctor Chris Bradshaw said, "I will be in touch with the medical
practitioners who treated her. Emma will be bringing forward her planned
arrival at the team training camp in Vila Real, Portugal to around 8th
August so that her return to full training can be supervised by the team
medical staff."

National Head Coach Chris Wardlaw said, "We are very pleased Emma has
avoided any severe injury. Pole Vaulting is a very serious sport and this is
an indication of the dangers involved. I am confident that by joining the
team in Portugal on the 8th of August she will have the best possible chance
getting herself fit for the World Championships."

----------------------
posted by Bubba Sparks
----------------------

Australian pole-vault world record-holder Emma George was rushed to hospital
yesterday after injuring her back during a training mishap in Switzerland.
George, who missed the landing bag and fell 4.5 metres onto the ground,
complained of feeling numb but said she was lucky to be only badly bruised.
Page 86.

Doug Sparks

=====================
Championship Schedule
=====================

Women's Pole Vault Final
    Saturday August 21st 7:05 pm (Spanish time)

Men's Pole Vault Qualifying Rounds
    Tuesday August 24th

Men's Pole Vault Final
    Thursday August 26th 7:10 pm (Spanish time)

==============
US TV Coverage
==============

Looks like we might actually get some decent coverage but only if you're a
night owl like myself

Times are Eastern Standard Time

TBS Superstation

8/23 Monday    12:40am-2:40am
8/24 Tuesday   12:35am-2:35am
8/25 Wednesday  2:25am-4:25am
8/26 Thursday  12:35am-2:35am
8/27 Friday     1:50am-3:50am

NBC

8/22 Sunday       noon-1:30pm
8/28 Saturday   3:30pm-4:30pm
8/29 Sunday       noon-4:00pm
9/4  Saturday   2:00pm-2:30pm

If anybody knows any other TV coverage available (CBC? Eurosport?) I will
galdly post them...

=================
Internet Coverage
=================

DOH! Unfortunately I will be in Rochester the first weekend of the champs
and thus my coverage of the women's final will be delayed until at least
Monday. Not to fear 'netters as there are plenty of sources to get your fix

First up Runner's World looks like they have an awesome site ready to go

    http://www.runnersworld.com/seville99

The IAAF also has their butts in gear

    http://www.iaaf.org/sevilla99/index.asp

The most interesting coverage is by that company that has all the bizarre
ads on TV and in magazines - quokka.com. For more on this here are some
postings to the T&F mailing list from Dwight Stones

"Dear Listers,

Got the go ahead yesterday from my bosses at Quokka Sports to announce that
from the World Championships of Track & Field in Seville, NBC's internet
partner, Quokka Sports, will be providing a "real time" webcast of the
events from Spain.

I will be the host and commentator for this webcast and it is my intention
to cover as many heats and finals as possible within the confines of my
television duties with NBC and Turner Sports.  Seeing as I am "just" a field
event analyst with both of those networks, I should have ample time to bring
you the action from most of the events from the sprints through the 10,000m.

If you see a sudden, unexplained lapse in my coverage it will be because I
have received a request from my television producer to do some work relative
to the over the air broadcast.  It may also be because I had to excusemyself
for a little while to take care of some "other business."  I will do my best
to warn the people following along that I have something coming up that will
cause a lapse of some length in my coverage but I will make it my goal to be
certain that all finals come with uninterrupted commentary.

I will start this "live" webcast with the the Heptathlon 100m Hurdles at
10:05am local time in Seville.  Spain is 6 hours ahead of EDT and 9 hours
ahead of PDT.  According to the schedule, most running event finals are
scheduled between 7:30pm - 9:30pm local time.  That would be between 1:30pm-
3:30pm on the East Coast (EDT) and between 10:30am - 12:30pm on the West
Coast (PDT).

I am leaving for Sweden today to visit family along with my daughter and
will arrive in Seville late on Wednesday, Aug. 18.  The address for the site
is:

www.nbcolympics.com

There are a lot of interesting bits of information on the site including
features and bios on many different athletes.  This is the website for the
Sydney Olympics and most of the "analysts" will be doing "live" webcasting
from Australia next year.

Quokka Sports was the company that did the Around The World Yacht Race where
the actual participants were posting to the site during the event.  The idea
is to involve as many of the athletes as possible through features like the
Athlete's Voice, where many of the athletes have recorded some of their
thoughts relative to their events.

This is a work in progress as we prepare for next year's Olympics but the
Track & Field World Championships is a major dress rehearsal where we will
gain a lot of knowledge and make a lot of changes relative to our
preparations for Sydney's live webcasting of most of the events on the
Olympics program.

Feel free to visit the site and get familiar with how to navigate around it
in preparation for the first day of competition from Seville on Saturday,
August 21.  Hope to see you there.

D W I G H T"

...however apparently the site is not entirely ready yet...

"I'm sorry for the confusion.  It's my understanding, and I've made a call
to clarify this, that you can't access the site until Saturday, August 21.
If that is not the case and I am able to get the username and password for
use prior to that, I will post same to this list.

Otherwise, assume that the first time you can access is on the 21st.  No, it
is NOT a pay site.

D W I G H T"

Sounds like this could be a REALLY cool way to get our PV fix.

===========================================================
1999 USATF ATHLETE BIOGRAPHIES (written by Jeff Hollobaugh)
(*note* these aren't super-current...)
===========================================================

------------
Jeff Hartwig
------------

Born: September 25, 1967, in St. Louis, Mo
Current Residence: Jonesboro, Ar
PRs: Pole Vault-19-8.25 AR (1998)
High School: Howell HS, St. Charles, Mo '85
College: Florissant Valley CC '87, Arkansas State '90
Height: 6-3
Weight: 185
Coach: Earl Bell
Agent: Hideshi Okamoto
Club: Nike
1982: best of 9-6.

1983: best of 11-0.

1984: best of 12-6.

1985: best of 14-6
...placed 3rd in Missouri state high school champs.

1986: best of 15-0.

1987: best of 16-1.

1988: best of 16-9.

1989: best of 17-6.25

...no-heighted in his first NCAA Indoor
...made it to his only NCAA outdoor champs, but no-heighted in the qualifying
round.

1990: best of 17-8.5

...no heighted in his second NCAA Indoor appearance.

1991: best of 17-6.5.

1992: best of 18-4.5

...placed 13th in the Olympic Trials.

1993: best of 17-6.5

...no-heighted in the qualifying round at the USA Champs.

1994: best of 18-5.5

...no-heighted at the USA Indoor
...no-heighted in the finals of the USA Champs
...won the Olympic Festival.

1995: best of 18-9.25

...tied for 9th at the USA Indoor
...7th in the USA Champs...ranked #9 in U.S. by T&FN
...had arthroscopic knee surgery over the winter.

1996: best of 19-0.25

...started season with 18-4.5 at Reno Pole Vault Summit
...the next day he broke a pole in practice, shattering his hand bones...spent
seven weeks in a cast
...runner-up in the Olympic Trials
...tied for 11th in the Olympic final...ranked #4 in U.S. by T&FN.

1997: best of 19-2.25

...first season "in memory" that he didn't have any injuries early-on
...4th in the USA Champs
...ranked #5 in U.S. by T&FN.

1998: best of 19-8.5

...won Prefontaine (5.92/19-5)
...USA Champion at 19-2.25 (5.85)
... the first American over 6-meters (19-8.25), a mark he cleared in St-Denis,
France in June
...improved that American record with his 19-8.5 to win the Goodwill Games
...won seven Grand Prix meets, but placed 7th in GP Final
...topped 19-feet in 22 out of 31 meets...ranked #2 in world by T&FN (#1 U.S.).

The Rest of the Story:

...Hartwig's career story has "Underdog" written all over it
...never cleared 15-feet in high school
...never cleared 18-feet in college
...no college scholarship
...while at Florissant Valley, coached by Norris Stevenson
...didn't start lifting weights until college
...coached by Guy Kochel while at Arkansas State
...since graduation has worked with Earl Bell, a former world record holder
(18-7.25 in 1976)
...jumped his 1995 PR of 18-9.25 at Bell's 40th birthday competition
...he and wife Karol raise boa constrictors and pythons for sale to pet stores
...sometimes will have over 100 snakes on the premises
...the couple also own six dogs
...He says his goal for 1999 is: "To jump higher than I've ever jumped. I'd
like to set an American indoor record and make the World Indoor team.
Outdoors, because the pole vault is a Golden League event, I'm looking
forward to repeating my consistency from last year, and hopefully finishing
a little stronger at the end"
...the prospect of being the first American over 20-feet is interesting, but
not a big motivator for Hartwig. He says, "It's a mark along the way to the
world record. It's been done before. I put more emphasis on the world record
itself."

NOTE: Hartwig set a pending American Indoor Record of 19-4.75 at the Reno
Pole Vault Summit on Jan. 23 and an American Outdoor Record 19-9 at the
USATF Championships in June

----------
Pat Manson
----------

Born              : November 29, 1967, in West Point, NY
Current Residence : Boulder, Co
PRs               : Pole Vault 19-2.25 (1994 & 1997)
High School       : Central HS, Aurora, Co '86
College           : Kansas '91
Height            : 5-10
Weight            : 165
Coach             : Rick Attig
Agent             : Flynn Sports Management
Club              : U.S. West

1984: best of 15-2.

1985: best of 16-8.75
...no-heighted at state meet...won USA Juniors.

1986: best of 18-0
...won Colorado HS state meet
...2nd in USA Juniors...silver at Pan-Am Juniors
...no height at World Juniors.

1987: best of 18-0.5...3rd at NCAA.

1988: best of 18-6.5
...5th at NCAA Indoor (17-9.75)
...no-height in NCAA qualifying
...tied for 2nd at USA Champs
...tied for 17th in Olympic Trials qualifying.

1989: best of 18-8
...2nd at NCAA Indoor (18-2)
...2nd at NCAAs
...no-height at USA Champs.

1990: best of 18-4.5
...2nd in NCAA Indoor (18-0.5)
...no-height in qualifying at USA Champs.

1991: best of 18-8.25
...2nd in NCAA Indoor (18-0.5)
...3rd in NCAA (18-8.25)
...tied for 6th at USA Champs (18-0.5)
...won gold at Pan-Am Games (18-0.5)
...ranked #7 in U.S. by T&FN.

1992: best of 18-8.75
...tied for 6th in USA Indoor (17-8.5)
...8th in Olympic Trials (18-4.5)
...ranked #9 in U.S. by T&FN.

1993: best of 18-10.25
...5th in USA Indoor (18-1)
...4th in USA Champs (18-4.5)
...ranked #3 in U.S. by T&FN.

1994: best of 19-2.25
...4th in USA Indoor (18-4.5)
...6th in USA Champs (18-4.5)
...ranked #10 in world (#4 U.S.) by T&FN.

1995: best of 19-0.25
...13th in USA Indoor (18-0.5)
...won Pan-Am Games gold (18-10.25 MR)
...6th in USA Champs (18-6.5)
...ranked #10 in world (#3 U.S.) by T&FN.

1996: best of 19-0.25
...won USA Indoor (18-8.25)
...6th in Olympic Trials (18-8.25)
...5th in GP Final (18-8.25)
...ranked #10 in world (#1 U.S.) by T&FN.

1997: best of 19-2.25
...tied for 3rd at USA Indoor (18-10.25)
...3rd at USA Champs (19-0.25)
...6th at World Champs (18-8.25)
...4th in GP Final (19-2.25 =PR)
...ranked #6 in world (#1 U.S.) by T&FN.

1998: best of 19-0.75
...3rd at USA Indoor (18-2.5)
...2nd in USA Champs (18-10.25)
...3rd at Goodwill Games (18-8.25)
...5th at Zurich's Weltklasse (19-0.25)
...ranked #8 in world (#2 U.S.) by T&FN.

The Rest of the Story:

...started vaulting as a high school freshman...had
gone out for track as a sprinter/long jumper
...saw the vault, and asked his coach if he could try it: "secretly he had
wanted me to be a vaulter"
...dad was a running back at Pitt; mother is a marathoner runner, and has even
run the difficult Pikes Peak Marathon
...married to distance runner Amy Legacki in March 1997
...she still races, and also does motivational speaking for children, visiting
many youth track clinics
...Manson earned his degree in mechanical engineering, and works for U.S. West
as a technology forecaster
..."It's a terrific job"...is working to get a heavy training base down in 1999
so to be ready for the year 2000
..."I'm spending more time in the weight room. I ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in
96 and 97, and I'd like to get that back. With everyone else jumping so
well, it's going to be a challenge."
...says the low point in his career was the 1996 Olympic Trials, where his
poles were run over by a truck and he had to vault on borrowed poles
...cleared the same height as 3rd-placer Scott Huffman, but ended up 6th on
misses
..."I love this sport. I feel very blessed to have the career that I have had,
and there's still more to come."

-----------
Nick Hysong
-----------

Sorry - no USATF bio available. Maybe one of the Kiss the Sky crowd can
supply us with one perhaps?

-------------
Stacy Dragila
-------------

Born              : March 25, 1971, Auburn, Ca
Current Residence : Pocatello, Id
PRs               : Pole Vault 15-0 3/4 (1999) exhibition, 14-11 1/4 (1999)
High School       : Placer HS, Auburn, Ca '90
College           : Yuba CC '92, Idaho State '95
Height            : 5-7.5
Weight            : 140
Coach             : Dave Nielsen
Agent             : Peter Stubbs
Club              : Reebok

1994: best of 10-0.

1995: best of 12-1.5
...also 5240 for heptathlon
...2nd in heptathlon at Big Sky Champs
...2nd in PV at USA Champs (11-5.75)
...jumped her 12-1.5 in the dual against Great Britain...ranked #2 in U.S. by
T&FN.

1996: best of 13-9.25
...also 5291 heptathlon
...won USA Indoor (13-5.25)
...won USA Title (13-9.25 AR)
...ranked #1 in U.S. by T&FN.

1997: best of 14-7.25
...also 5393 for heptathlon
...won USA Indoor (13-1.5)
...won World Indoor gold (14-5.25 = WR)
...competed in a decathlon, scoring 5029
...won PV at USA Champs (14-1.75)
...ranked #2 in world (#1 in U.S.) by T&FN.

1998: best of 14-8.75
...won USA Indoor (14-1.75)
...jumped PR of 14-8.75 indoors to win at Sindelfingen
...jumped outdoor best of 14-6 in May in Pocatello
...runner-up at USA Champs (13-5.25)
...no-height at Goodwill Games; MRI afterwards revealed a fractured navicular
bone
...ranked #6 in world (#1 in U.S.) by T&FN.

The Rest of the Story:

under her maiden name of Mikaelson, she competed
twice in the California state HS meet in the hurdles
...placed 2nd in the
1990 Golden West meet in the 400H (63.70)
...the late coach John Orognen recruited her to Yuba College and trained her
for the heptathlon
...as a junior at Idaho State, Dragila and the rest of the women heptathletes
were told by coach Nielsen to try to vault over 6-feet
..."I thought this was just dinking around," she says
...the learning process took a while. Says Dragila, "The first couple trillion
times trying to go over the bar were pretty frightening for me"
...when she cleared 10-feet indoors in 1994, she didn't know it was an
American record until she read it in Track & Field News
...graduated from Idaho State with a degree in physical education/health
education
...now pursuing masters in health education
...also works as an assistant coach with the Idaho State track team,
concentrating on the vault and the heptathlon
...active with Big Brothers/Big Sisters...underwent surgery in late September to
repair the fractured navicular bone in her foot
...for 1999, she says, "We're going to play the indoor season by ear. I don't
want to come back too soon. I'll probably skip most of the meets before
nationals. If I don't make the World Indoor team, that's okay. Outdoors is
much more important to me. I think 15-7 is a realistic goal. I also want to
make that outdoor World Championships team."

-------------
Kellie Suttle
-------------

Born              : May 9, 1973, in St. Peters, Mo
Current Residence : Jonesboro, Ar
PRs               : Pole Vault 14-7 1/4 (1999)
High School       : Howell HS, St. Charles, Mo '91
College           : Florissant Valley JC '93; Arkansas State '96
Height            : 5-7
Weight            : 128
Coach             : Earl Bell
Agent             : Mark Wetmore
Club              : Bell Athletics

1995: best of 12-2
...tied for 13th at USA Champs.

1996: best of 12-7.5
...tied for 6th at USA Champs.

1997: best of 12-9.5
...tied for 4th at USA Champs
...ranked #5 in U.S. by T&FN.

1998: best of 14-0
...8th at USA Indoor (11-11.75)
...won USA Champs (14-0)
...6th at Goodwill Games (13-5.25)
...ranked #2 in U.S. by T&FN.

The Rest of the Story:

...Suttle had been a long jumper prior to her conversion to the vault
...she won the Missouri HS state title as a junior in 1990 and placed 4th her
senior year...her prep PR was 18-7
...at Florissant Valley, she improved to 19-2.75 and placed 6th in the JUCO
nationals in 1993
...earned her degree in communications with an emphasis on radio and TV
production; now she is working on a second bachelors, this time in massage
therapy...was working as a gymnastics instructor at a local facility where
some of the Arkansas State vaulters came for workouts
...Earl Bell, a former world record holder in the pole vault who runs a top
vault training center, was looking for a female to coach...Jeff Hartwig, one
of Bell's star pupils, asked Suttle if she wanted to try it
..."I loved it right away. I did it off and on that first year, and since then
I've been going non-stop. I had a really good coach from the beginning."
...works full-time as an assistant manager at The Buckle in Jonesboro, which
she describes as being a "Gappy-type" of clothes store
..."It's the only place where I can set my hours around my training and travel
and still make enough money to eat"
...says her biggest moment so far was winning nationals in 1998 and making the
Goodwill Games team
...for 1999, says, "I'd like to jump 14-6 at least, and get as close as I can
to 15-0. I'd like to make the World Championship team. I'm committed to this
through the year 2000, and if everything's going well, there's no reason I'd
pursue anything else."

-------------
Melissa Price
-------------

Born              : September 20, 1977, in Visalia, Ca
Current Residence : Fresno, Ca
PRs               : Pole Vault 14-3 1/4 (1998)
High School       : Kingsburg, Ca '95
College           : Fresno State '99
Height            : 5-3
Weight            : 120
Coach             : Bob Fraley

1993: best of 10-6.

1994: best of 11-6.25
...won USA Champs (10-8)
...ranked #1 in U.S. by T&FN.

1995: best of 13-1.75
...won USA Indoor (11-7.75)
...won USA Champs (12-9)
...won USA Juniors (13-1.75 AR)
...ranked #1 in U.S. by T&FN.

1996: best of 13-6.25
...2nd at USA Indoor (13-1.5 =CR)
...2nd in USA Champs (12-9.5)
...won USA Juniors (13-3.5)
...ranked #2 in U.S. by T&FN.

1997: best of 13-3.75
...2nd in USA Indoor (12-9.5)
...2nd in USA Champs (13-1.5)
...14th in qualifying at World University Games (12-9.5)
...ranked #2 in U.S. by T&FN.

1998: best of 14-3.5
...won WAC Indoor (13-3.5)
...won NCAA Indoor (13-10 PR)
...won WAC (14-3.5 PR)
...no height in NCAA
...4th in USA Champs (13-5.25)
...7th in Goodwill Games (13-5.25)
...ranked #3 in U.S. by T&FN.

The Rest of the Story:

...a former gymnast, Price started vaulting in 1993
...in 1995 she set 10 American records, indoors and out...coached in high school
by Dave Crass
...studying business accounting at Fresno State
...is currently working an internship in an accounting firm... also does
volunteer community service with her accounting fraternity, Beta Alpha Psi
...says, "I was happy with last season, even if there were a couple of
injuries at the end. There were some struggles in my first two years at
college, but I've got that ironed out now"
...for 1999, she says, "I want to PR. But I also want to maintain that level
that I hit last year, and jump a lot of 14-footers. I need to be consistent.
I hope to compete in Europe this summer. It's hard to say what height I
could hit: I'd like 14-7, or maybe 15-0. Of course, the eventual goal is to
make the Olympic team."

=================
Coming Up Next...
=================

The 1999 World Championships According to Gus site will be up and running
soon with startlsits, results, predictions and the like. The site will be at

http://M_99worldoutdoorchamps.html

Later in the week

- predictions from Jason Hinkin, Bubba Sparks, perennial also ran Shawn
Devereaux and yours truly, the champ (despite what Hinkin sez) VaultnGus
plus any others who care to contribute

- official WC startlists

- updated world & us lists plus MAJOR updates to the results sections and
other assorted sundries at the Pole Vault World According to Gus

http://www.vaultworld.com/vaultngus/vault.html

Stay tuned!

==========
VaultStuff
==========

The latest news from our VaultStuff.com buddies, Simon Arkell and Dean
Starkey

JAN JOHNSONâS LINE OF SKY JUMPERS VAULT PRODUCTS AVAILABLE  AT
VAULTSTUFF.COM

Friday August 13th., 1999 San Luis Obispo, CA

Vaultstuff.com has announced the latest products to be added to the World's
first and only pure e-store for pole vaulters, located at
www.vaultstuff.com. The additions represent Jan Johnson's best and newest
line of SkyJumpers shirts, bags and training videos.

Johnson, the 1972 Olympic Bronze Medallist and former World record holder
for the pole vault, called his company's induction into the vaultstuff.com
mall a significant move for his business as one of the leading vault camp
co-ordinators and vault-only product distributors.

"Using the Internet as a distribution mechanism for pole vault products and,
soon, for signing up campers electronically with secure credit card
commerce, is a logical but major step for my business. I am very excited by
the opportunity. I hope that the next twenty years can be as fun and
successful at the past twenty." Johnson said from his Atascadero, CA home.

Johnson's products are now available at www.vaultstuff.com and can be
purchased by anyone with an Internet connection and a credit card. Also
available are poles, vaultstuff.com's own hi-caffeine coffee beans,
autographed photos, Trackgirls Calendars, Cell Basics supplements and other
accessories.

ABOUT VAULTSTUFF.COM
Vaultstuff.com, the world's first pure e-store for pole vault poles,
apparel, accessories and collector's items has been open for business since
June 1999 and has attracted over 105,000 visitors in its first 8 weeks. The
site is also the exclusive vendor of the Year 2000 Trackgirls Calendar and
takes secure credit card orders over the Internet. Because no-one at
vaultstuff.com sees any credit card numbers as they are processed by
Cybercash and Verisign, it is the most secure method for purchasing
products.

ABOUT SKY JUMPERS
Sky Jumpers is the countryâs leading pole vault camp and apparel provider
for pole vaulting. Founded by Jan Johnson in 1979, Johnson has provided pole
vault camp services and coaching seminars, for over 30,000 pole vaulters and
coaches in virtually every region of the USA.

CONTACTS
Skyjumpers at 1800 652-5201 or email at skyjumpers@msn.com

Vaultstuff.com at vaultstuff@gdis.com

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VaultnGus
"Will vault for food"