KU's Bradford Ready for Big 12 Meet and Beyond
May 14, 2021 | Track & Field
by Greg McCune, Special Contributor
Zach Bradford admits that pole vaulters have to be a little bit mental to hurl themselves 19 feet into the air with a stick.
"You are relying a lot of your life on this pole flinging yourself into the air. You have got to be a little bit crazy to do it," said Bradford, who has the top vault in the NCAA since the outdoor season began at 5.81 meters (19 feet ¾ inch) and will compete at the Big 12 Championships in Manhattan on May 16.
But Bradford said he has loved the event since first he picked up a pole at his older brother's high school practice when he was in fourth or fifth grade back in Bloomington, Illinois.
"The freedom of flying in the air," said the Kansas University sophomore. "It's mesmerizing."
Bradford is one of an unusually talented group of young vaulters who are pushing the event to new heights. They include K.C. Lightfoot of Baylor, Chris Nilsen, formerly of the University of South Dakota, and world record holder Mondo Duplantis formerly of LSU. Lightfoot, Nilsen and Duplantis have all turned professional, though Lightfoot competed for Baylor long enough to have the second-best collegiate jump in the nation this outdoor season.
Bradford also has to contend with a stable of excellent vaulters every day in practice at KU. The Jayhawks arrive in Manhattan for the conference meet with four vaulters who have cleared 18 feet, a collegiate first. Teammate Hussain Al-Hizam of Saudi Arabia has cleared 5.70 meters (18 feet 8 ¼), and Kyle Rogers and Christian Champen have both cleared 5.52 (18 feet 1¼).
The Big 12 also has several outstanding women vaulters including Tuesdi Tidwell of Baylor and Chinne Okoronkwo of Texas Tech, both of whom have cleared 14 feet.
It is a tough year for elite collegiate Track and Field athletes because they must peak for the conference meet, then for the NCAA championships, then again for the Olympic Trials in June, and if they are so fortunate, the Olympics in Tokyo in July.
Bradford has all this in mind as he trains toward the ultimate goal of making the Olympic team.
He can fall back on invaluable experience he gained back in 2019, when he made the U.S. team to the World Track and Field Championships in Doha, Qatar, by finishing fourth at the U.S. championships, and was the youngest member of the team at 19.
"That was really just an insane moment to make that team knowing that I was the youngest one there. I kind of just took it as a learning experience," said Bradford.
His roommate during the championships was fellow collegian Lightfoot, the second-youngest on the team, and he was able to observe an older U.S. teammate, Sam Kendricks, win his second world championship in the pole vault.
Bradford said the experience should make him a better vaulter when he next competes internationally.
"The biggest thing I learned is that a lot of those athletes are just normal people off the track and you just have got to be yourself," he said.
Since the world championships, Bradford and all other athletes in the sport suffered through the cancellation of the entire outdoor season because of the COVID pandemic.
Bradford also had his tonsils removed during the winter and lost 20 pounds because he couldn't eat much for two weeks. It took about two months until he said he felt back to his normal self.
He finally cracked the 19 feet barrier again on April 9 in Columbia, Missouri, when inclement weather forced an outdoor meet to be moved indoors.
"It was more of relief, a lot of weight off the shoulders," he said. "I was honestly waiting for that to happen."
Bradford said he'll miss having Lightfoot, his friend and rival, there at the Big 12 meet.
"It should be a really good competition … with my teammates and other athletes from the Big 12," he said.
Zach Bradford admits that pole vaulters have to be a little bit mental to hurl themselves 19 feet into the air with a stick.
"You are relying a lot of your life on this pole flinging yourself into the air. You have got to be a little bit crazy to do it," said Bradford, who has the top vault in the NCAA since the outdoor season began at 5.81 meters (19 feet ¾ inch) and will compete at the Big 12 Championships in Manhattan on May 16.
But Bradford said he has loved the event since first he picked up a pole at his older brother's high school practice when he was in fourth or fifth grade back in Bloomington, Illinois.
"The freedom of flying in the air," said the Kansas University sophomore. "It's mesmerizing."
Bradford is one of an unusually talented group of young vaulters who are pushing the event to new heights. They include K.C. Lightfoot of Baylor, Chris Nilsen, formerly of the University of South Dakota, and world record holder Mondo Duplantis formerly of LSU. Lightfoot, Nilsen and Duplantis have all turned professional, though Lightfoot competed for Baylor long enough to have the second-best collegiate jump in the nation this outdoor season.
Bradford also has to contend with a stable of excellent vaulters every day in practice at KU. The Jayhawks arrive in Manhattan for the conference meet with four vaulters who have cleared 18 feet, a collegiate first. Teammate Hussain Al-Hizam of Saudi Arabia has cleared 5.70 meters (18 feet 8 ¼), and Kyle Rogers and Christian Champen have both cleared 5.52 (18 feet 1¼).
The Big 12 also has several outstanding women vaulters including Tuesdi Tidwell of Baylor and Chinne Okoronkwo of Texas Tech, both of whom have cleared 14 feet.
It is a tough year for elite collegiate Track and Field athletes because they must peak for the conference meet, then for the NCAA championships, then again for the Olympic Trials in June, and if they are so fortunate, the Olympics in Tokyo in July.
Bradford has all this in mind as he trains toward the ultimate goal of making the Olympic team.
He can fall back on invaluable experience he gained back in 2019, when he made the U.S. team to the World Track and Field Championships in Doha, Qatar, by finishing fourth at the U.S. championships, and was the youngest member of the team at 19.
"That was really just an insane moment to make that team knowing that I was the youngest one there. I kind of just took it as a learning experience," said Bradford.
His roommate during the championships was fellow collegian Lightfoot, the second-youngest on the team, and he was able to observe an older U.S. teammate, Sam Kendricks, win his second world championship in the pole vault.
Bradford said the experience should make him a better vaulter when he next competes internationally.
"The biggest thing I learned is that a lot of those athletes are just normal people off the track and you just have got to be yourself," he said.
Since the world championships, Bradford and all other athletes in the sport suffered through the cancellation of the entire outdoor season because of the COVID pandemic.
Bradford also had his tonsils removed during the winter and lost 20 pounds because he couldn't eat much for two weeks. It took about two months until he said he felt back to his normal self.
He finally cracked the 19 feet barrier again on April 9 in Columbia, Missouri, when inclement weather forced an outdoor meet to be moved indoors.
"It was more of relief, a lot of weight off the shoulders," he said. "I was honestly waiting for that to happen."
Bradford said he'll miss having Lightfoot, his friend and rival, there at the Big 12 meet.
"It should be a really good competition … with my teammates and other athletes from the Big 12," he said.
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