ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Athletes across the country are competing for a spot on Team USA in the Olympic trials this week. It’s taken years of training, practicing and hitting the gym for pole vaulter Brynn King.
“In the back of my mind, this has always been like a goal and a dream," King said. "But, I mean, like many other athletes, everyone wants to reach the pinnacle of their sport. But, realistically, I don’t think so. I had goals that were nowhere near this. And even if you asked me this last year if I could see myself competing at the Olympic trials, I don’t think I would have said yes."
She’s a fifth-year student-athlete at Roberts Wesleyan University. King based much of her college search on where she saw herself continuing her pole vaulting career.
“In looking for a new school, I decided where it was going to impact me," King explained. "I was going to go wherever I needed to go to try to be successful in that, and that brought me up to Rochester, New York. [It's] very different from the Woodlands, Texas. [It's] nice and cold here. I had never experienced driving in the snow or anything before I came here. So it’s been a big adjustment, but 100% worth it."
She started pole vaulting during her senior year of high school.
“My high school coach was like, 'I really think you should try pole vaulting because you were a cheerleader, a flier, so you know where you are in the air and you also run decently fast from running track,'” King explained, “I was a flier for most of my cheer career, so that just builds a ton of awareness, like knowing where your body is throughout the are and also fearlessness. I mean, I loved being thrown up in the air. So two of those things definitely help in pole vault.”
Now the sport is all she can think about.
“It’s been exciting, hard training," King said. "We’re trying to get a lot done. I also don’t have school or anything, so I can put my full focus into track right now, which for me is exactly what I want to do. I love pole vault, and I love spending almost every waking moment trying to get better, thinking about it. So, yeah, it’s been just multiple training sessions a day trying to cover every aspect and just improve as much as I can in the short amount of period."
She’s training for a spot on Team USA as her coach, former gold medalist Jenn Suhr, once did.
“Just what’s successful and what makes someone successful, and it’s the show up every single day — on days you don’t want to show up, on days that are hard, on days you’re just not feeling it," Suhr said. "She shows up and she works hard. And that's what’s giving her success. And she’s being taught the program that I was taught. You know, she’s being taught from Rick what he taught me and just the technical parts of it, you know, pole vaulting; the mental, it’s all aspects. This is a bonus. This is an extra. This is something that we weren’t sure, and it happens. Now we’re going to take advantage of it. You know, it comes every four years, and she’s in the Olympic trials. And so we’re going after it. She could have a chance, I mean, you have to show up day-off and she knows that. And we’ve prepared her for that. And we told her the heights you’re looking for. These are what it’s going to take. You have a qualifying round. You have to get through that. It’s going to be stressful. So we’re preparing her mentally on what she has to deal with.”
“It’s been super exciting. I mean, she has so much experience, and so much knowledge, not only as a coach, but also as a lather because she was in my position for so many years," King said of her coach. "So, the experiences that she can share with me are, you can’t beat that. It’s so helpful. So it’s been really great having her as a mentor, not only in pole vault, but in life and around the sport."
As King wraps up the last of her physical training before competing, she’s transitioning into the mental preparations.
“You just have to try to block out the distractions, block out the nerves and fall back and rely on the system and the training that she has taught me, and that will get me to reach the goals that I want to,” King explained, “I’ve never competed in Hayward Field, which is a huge facility, and super cool for any track athlete to do. I think it’ll be very nerve-wracking. I think I’ll have a lot of nerves by the same time. It’ll be very exciting, something that I’ve never done and something that I’ve dreamed about for a long time. Even just getting the opportunity to try to compete to make Team USA. So, I think it’s going to be a good mix.”
With nothing to lose, and everything to gain, she and the rest of her training team are excited for King’s opportunity.
“I’m hoping to just takeaway experience," King said. "Like I said before, I haven’t competed at this level for very long. So any time I step into a pro meet or a meet with the best in the country, I want to learn from them, but also learn about myself and try to just improve my ability to stay calm, focus on myself, and execute what I know I can do."
Coach Suhr couldn’t agree more.
“It’s very prideful to go in and try to make a team to represent your country," Suhr said. "And just to feel that’s where she belongs. This is the level that she belongs at. She’s ranked in the country and she’s in the world rankings. I mean, that’s a huge jump and it takes you time to believe you’re at that level. And so, I want her to believe that she’s at this level.”