Junior Bridgid Isworth is not only the indoor, outdoor and UNM stadium champion in the pole vault, she is also the third-ranked pole vaulter in Australia and 34th-ranked in the world. But the Melbourne, Australia native said she still gets an anxious feeling every time she jumps.
"Actually, the more I do it, the more scared I get," she said. "I guess as you do it, you have more falls and you have more accidents. You start remembering those, and it becomes more frightening."
Isworth said she did all kinds of track and field events in high school, and started working on pole vaulting when she was 15. Isworth said there are no high school athletics in Australia, so she competed on a club track and field team.
"One day my coach asked me to try it because I'm a fast runner and have a background in gymnastics," Isworth said. "He was training the world record holder at the time, so I was really excited."
Isworth said vaulting is such a technical event that athletes have to start extremely slow. She practiced for nearly a year before she was able to compete, first learning how to hold the pole, then learning how to run with the pole and where to plant it, and finally using poles of shorter lengths before vaulting from the standard size pole.
Since she came to UNM in 2003, nagging injuries have hindered Isworth's performance. UNM head track and field coach Matt Henry said pole vaulting puts more stress on bodies than most people realize.
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"All events are tough on your body," Henry said. "But when you run full speed and you plant that pole in that box, it really has an effect on your body."
Isworth said vaulting has definitely taken a toll on her body. She has recovered from a number of back injuries and stress fractures in her feet.
"It's kind of like you're running as fast as you possibly can and then you're planting your pole, which is like running into a brick wall," she said.
Isworth set her personal record two years ago in Australia, and that year she also won the bronze metal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. She said it is frustrating that she has not broken her record sail of 14-01.25, despite her success as a Lobo.
"I came over here and I was jumping, like, a foot below my best," she said. She said a combination of things have hindered her.
Henry said Isworth will be one of the Lobos' top competitors this week at the Mountain West Conference championships in Las Vegas, Nev. He said in order for UNM to win the championships, every individual on the team needs to have an outstanding day.
Isworth said her goal for the championships is to place in the top three, although she said she has the potential to win it. But she said she has also been training for the heptathlon.
"I'm not going to get a good result in the heptathlon because I've only been doing it for a few months," she said. "But I just love it and it takes some pressure off the pole vault."
