Jezebel: pole vaulting

Last night, after we posted the clip of ...

Jessica — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:20:00 EDT

Last night, after we posted the clip of silver medal-winning pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski being chewed out by her coach, Rick Suhr, we got an email from Jezefriend and awesome writer Arianne Cohen, pointing out an interesting detail in the dynamic between Suhr and Stuczynski. "In this Times article, it talks about how she LIVES all alone with him, on the second floor of a house in the middle of nowhere. He once mortgaged his house to pay for her training. So now she 'wouldn't ever move unless Rick moved,'" Ari, who used to work in a domestic abuse clinic, wrote to us in an email. Here's more of her take: "When I first read it, I thought, 'omg,' and now with the added bonus of watching their dynamic, this has all the markings of domestic abuse. Highly productive domestic abuse, but still, domestic abuse." Fingers crossed that with the Olympics nearly over, Stuczynski will be looking for new lodgings. [Arianne Cohen, NY Times]

First Time Olympian's Coach Criticizes Her For Taking Silver

Margaret — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EDT

On Monday night, U.S. pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski, 25, came in second place to Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva, who took the gold while raising her own women's pole vaulting world record to 16 feet, 6 3/4 inches. You would think that Stuczynski's coach would be thrilled that she came in second only to Isinbayeva, who's won 14 consecutive major competitions since 2003. But, in the clip above, a mic picks up coach Rick Suhr chewing out Stuyczynski, saying "It's the same old, same old" and shrugging his shoulders dismissively. Even NBC's commentators are taken aback by his accusatory tone, asking "Didn't she just win the silver medal? Where's the joy?" Four years ago, Suhr spotted Stuczynski playing basketball for Roberts Wesleyan College and asked her to pick up the pole for the first time. Do you think he's being cruel, or just expressing his disappointment in a strange way?

Jenn Stuczynski Athlete Bio [NBC Olympics]