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August 21, 2004 7:14 pm

Defending champ Dragila fails to reach pole vault finals

By Mike Prater

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - Stacy Dragila will not repeat as Olympic gold medalist in women's pole vault.

The former Pocatello, Idaho, resident who moved to Phoenix last year - strictly for the purpose of training for these games - pulled a shocker inside Olympic Stadium on Saturday night by failing to qualify for the Tuesday finals.

``I did not make it and that pretty much sucks,'' Dragila said.

She missed three attempts at 14 feet, 5 1/4 inches - well below the 16-foot barrier she's been flirting with for the past year. Dragila hit 15-10 earlier this season and briefly owned the outdoor world record.

She wasn't a favorite going into these games because of the presence of Russian 16-foot vaulters Svetlana Feofanova and Yelena Isinbayeva, but she was considered a strong medal contender.

Fifteen women made the finals, including the two Russians at 14-5 1/4. The three top qualifiers at 14-7 1/4 were Monika Pyrek of Poland, Pavla Hamackova of the Czech Republic and Anna Rogowska of Poland.

``I blew my shot,'' said Dragila, who officially finished in a tie for 19th.

Dragila debuted new red, white and blue Nike shoes for this meet. Although the colors were new, the custom-made style was not. Dragila speculated that the shoes possibly could have inflamed the tendinitis she's been dealing with in both feet since the Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif., last month.

Dragila, 33, said she felt ``great'' but seemed to have trouble with her takeoff.

``I took my warm-up jump at the track and I didn't feel anything,'' she said. ``I'm struggling with my takeoffs. I didn't know what to do. Either I was going to move back and risk falling or rush under it,'' she said.

She said the tender feet affected her preparation for Athens.

``I need to jump,'' she said. ``I'm a jumper. I was unable to do a lot of that. I've been on painkillers, and (the trainers) have been good to me. I've been doing a lot of walking drills. I thought `I can do this. I can pole vault.' But I couldn't pole vault tonight. This is something I should be able to do in my sleep.''

Canadian qualifier Dana Ellis said losing Dragila in only the second Olympic pole vault final is a blow to the sport. Women's pole vault debuted at Sydney in 2000, where Dragila won with a 15-1.

``It's such a huge shocker,'' Ellis said. ``She's the reason I'm doing pole vault. She's a role model for all of us out there.''

Now the door is open for Feofanova and Isinbayeva to dominate Tuesday's final.

``It's going to be a great final. I'm just not going to be a part of it,'' Dragila said.

(Contributing: Dick Patrick, USA TODAY.)

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