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Bio | Best
Moment | Action Shot
| Lindsay Taylor |
Vaulting's Next Star |
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© 2002, Tony Duffy |
| school/year |
Brown/2001 |
| birth date |
February 9 |
| height |
5ft 8.5 |
| weight |
140 lbs |
| hometown |
Boone, North Carolina |
| major |
Mechanical / Biomedical Engineering |
| sport |
Athletics-Pole Vault |
| training town |
Boise, Idaho |
| coach |
Dave Nielsen |
| personal best |
14′3 ½″ |
| ranking |
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| outstanding achievement |
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| career goals |
PhD in engineering and neuroscience |
My Greatest Accomplishment, Track and Field
As I sit here trying to isolate one moment that I consider my greatest athletic accomplishment, I find myself lost amidst a history of successes that stand far from my ultimate goals. Being presented with questions of this nature along my path toward a berth at the junior Olympic nationals, my first national competition in high school, my first international competition as a junior competitor, my berth at the NCAAs, my first international competition as a senior competitor, my first USA Nationals, and finally, toward an Olympic berth and platform on the medal stand in 2004, I have been inclined to reply according to my most recent success (one title or another, breaking a new record, breaking my old record, winning another title, etc), the one that outweighs all previous experiences at that particular juncture in my life.
As I mature as an athlete, I am beginning to view my accomplishments differently; my focus has shifted from where I have been to where I intend to go. That being said, from my perspective, all of my accomplishments feel small only because I am seeking so much more. That 'more' is my dedication to excellence; I am in pursuit of that enlightenment rumored to exist just a few centimeters higher, tenths of a second faster, and a couple inches further from where I stand now.
My greatest athletic accomplishment? Any individual can read the list above to determine what they deem worthy of "greatness". I say that with an Olympic medal as my dream I have yet to achieve something tangible deserving of that title. My greatest accomplishment? If I can move into a realm that far exceeds the boundaries of the pits, the lanes on the track, and sectors on the field, then I would dare to say that my greatest accomplishment as an athlete has been finding myself: learning to let my heart be my guide, for through it all things are possible; learning that if I let passion determine my dedication then I will never fail; recognizing that in experiencing success and failure, in learning to embrace each with equal admiration, I am creating the person I want to become. My athletic career is largely responsible for who I am today. Track and field has been at the root of most of my decisions throughout my formative years; be they questions about dedication, perseverance, pain, over-coming pain, commitment, hate, contempt, or any other gambit of emotions that the world throws at you on a daily basis. What is my greatest accomplishment? Everyday that definition changes as I climb onward on weary legs toward my definition of success and self..
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© 2002, Tony Duffy |
Recent Results
2004
1/31/04 Idaho 14′1″
2/21/04 Idaho 14′3″
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Future Plans
2004
National Indoor Championships
Olympic Trials
Olympic Games
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