Better with age? Hartwig defies odds with Olympic berth
EUGENE, Ore. -- At 35, Derek Miles is an old man by pole-vaulting standards. "I know this was my last chance to make the Olympics," he said Sunday after winning the event at the U.S. track and field trials.
Sitting to his right, Jeff Hartwig made a face and gestured as if to say, "What about me?" Miles glanced at Hartwig and smiled.
"Yeah, well, he's different," Miles said. "He's superhuman."
That's where Miles is wrong. At 40 years old, Hartwig is an athlete human enough for the rest of us to identify with. He is old enough that he aches every day, old enough to have wrinkles line his face, old enough to have competed in the same Olympics as Carl Lewis and Charles Barkley and old enough to have stated unequivocally he would be far too old to make the next Olympic team.
Hartwig said that, mind you, four years ago after failing to qualify for the team at the 2004 trials.
And yet, there he was Sunday, barely two months shy of his 41st birthday, sitting alongside Miles and American record-holder Brad Walker as the three U.S. pole vaulters heading to Beijing. On a day with winds causing havoc for all the competitors, the Jamie Moyer of pole vaulting cleared 18 feet, eight inches, to become the oldest American to qualify for the Olympic team in his event.
"It isn't that I've come back -- I never went away," Hartwig said. "I never thought as a 36-year-old that it would be possible to be anywhere close to this level as a 40-year-old. And yet, I attribute my success to the fact that I've just never quit."
This is the second Olympics for Hartwig, who finished 11th at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. His future seemed bright back then, and he went on to set the American record in 1998 at 19 feet, 9¼ inches. But he no-heighted during the U.S. trials for the 2000 Games in Sydney and did so again at the 2004 trials.
"In 2000, it was a heartbreaker," he said. "In 2004, it hurt too, but I think the three guys who made the team that year were better than I was. But I think I may be better now than I was then. We'll see. Hopefully, I can hold together through the summer and go from there.
"It's a different time; it's a new day. If I had made those teams, who knows whether I would even be here today? I try not to dwell on the past. It's not like this one makes up for it, but, at the same time, I feel very, very fortunate to be in this position and going strong and make another team.
Hartwig said he never considered retirement because there is no replacement for the thrill of pole vaulting and the edge of competition.
"It's funny: Every year I go to a meet and someone will say, 'I thought you retired.' And I'll go, 'Yeah, I keep hearing that,"' he said. "But I never actually said I was going to retire. The only thing I said was after 2000, I said, 'One year at a time.' And at the end of each year, I decide whether to keep going or not. But I can say pretty much, guaranteed, for sure, I'm done after this year."
Well, that's what he says now. … We'll see how he feels after Beijing.
Hartwig opened Sunday at just over 18 feet, but missed his first two attempts. Just as he was worrying about another no-height performance, he cleared the bar in his third attempt and went on to clear 18-8, good enough for second and a spot on the team. As the winds swirled and caused so much frustration that Walker twice ran through his attempts, age and experience carried Hartwig.
"I think the conditions played to my favor," Hartwig said. "They were exceptionally good Friday during the qualifications and [Sunday] they were really tricky. Almost every time down, the wind was blowing a different direction."
Ten other vaulters went home disappointed Sunday, but thanks to Hartwig, they at least know they still have a chance to come back and qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London or even 2016 or 2020, or who knows, maybe even the 2024 Olympics. That is, if Hartwig doesn't knock them out.
"I think it gives everyone motivation to see Jeff out there and think you can chase your dreams as long as you want," fellow pole vaulter Paul Litchfield said. "Maybe your peak or your prime isn't exactly when the scientists and doctors have been telling you it is your whole life."
So, again, is there any chance Hartwig would consider sticking around to qualify for the 2012 Olympics?
"Honestly, if I could go 10 more years, I would. I honestly love the sport that much," he said. "But I can tell you now for sure. In four more years, I may be at the trials, but it will be as a spectator."
Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached here. His Web site is at jimcaple.net.
