“Koessler in the hole,” the official announced. I got up, really in the zone now. As I took off my sweats, the icy breeze stung my bare legs.
*Clang* I heard the bar hit the ground. “Yes!” I thought. Now I just had to jump one other girl and I had the win.
“Murphy up; Koessler on deck.” My last competitor was about to jump. I was only focused on myself, however. I couldn’t even watch her. I was turned away from the high jump pit, stretching on the ground. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I heard Mary Murphy start her approach towards the bar. But then: nothing.
“Oh no,” I thought, “She made it over.” I turned to check on my suspicion, but my opponent was walking back to her mark. She hadn’t even jumped yet. She approached again. But she didn’t jump. I knew exactly what she was thinking. I do the same thing when I approach higher heights. I just psych myself out when I know I am going for a height I haven’t cleared before. As much as I try to tell myself I can do it, as I am sprinting my fastest around the “J” curve towards the bar, my mind tells me I can’t do it. I knew she was doing the same thing.
I, however, was not gaining anything from her delay. Freezing cold and slight rain are not the best conditions to jump in, especially at the CYO Championship Meet. I had so much riding on this one meet. Everyone was expecting me to win and I going for a personal record.
Mary approached the bar again, and again turned away. She looked to her coach for help. He gave her a quick pep talk, she only had two minutes to complete her jump or she would automatically forfeit. She went to her mark, ran, and jumped, rather pitifully, not getting anywhere close to clearing it. I was so happy inside I could barely contain myself. But I knew I had to stay focused. I still had a record to chase.
I was nervous as I stepped up to my mark. This was my third attempt at 4’11”, a height I usually easily clear. I ran, jumped my hardest, driving my knee and throwing my arm up. I arched, piked, and landed on the mat. I cleared it. Everyone watching started cheering, but I still wasn’t done. Now I got to choose by how much the bar moved up.
“Five feet,” I announced. They moved the bar up. This was my personal record – on a good day with nice weather. I decided I just needed to go for it as hard as I possibly could. At this point, there were not many other events going on. Many people were crowded around the high jump, not making it any easier. I knew many people were cheering for me, and my coaches must have been yelling instructions at me, but I tuned everything out. I had to focus. I jumped and made it over. It felt effortless, and I was ready to go for a new height.
As they moved the bar up, I was trying to stretch and stay warm. Now it was time to focus. I couldn’t psych myself out. Not now. I stepped up to my mark. The whole area became silent. I started running. Counting steps. Turned the corner. Three more steps. Plant left foot. Drive right knee. Throw my body in the air. Arch. Head back. Pike. Hit the mat. I immediately jumped up, full of adrenalin. The silence was broken by the sudden outburst of cheering. I got my personal record, won the championship, but most importantly, fulfilled my own goal.
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