News & Media

Two World Records Set By Americans in Athletics (Track and Field)

SIOUX FALLS, SD — December 15, 2006 — The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) has reviewed and approved the two world records submitted by USA Deaf Sports Federation. Both world records are posted on the ICSD website at http://www.deaflympics.com/athletes. The USA Deaf Sports Federation congratulates those five student-athletes for their track and field performances.

4x100m RELAY

Four students at the Alabama School for the Deaf set a world juniors record in girls' 4x100m relay with a time of 51.89 seconds. The record was set on 07 May 2005 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (USA).

The students are Johnnika Yvonne Aaron, Danisha LaShea Johnson, Tomeika Cheyene Stallworth and Zenda Niki Davis.

POLE VAULT

On 15 April 2006 in Lincoln, Nebraska (USA), Patrick Southern set a world record in men's pole vault with an height of 5.06m (16' 7-1/4"). The previous mark of 4.78m (15' 8-1/4") was set by Norway’s Ole T. Sponberg in 1993.

Southern, a University of Nebraska athlete, won USA's lone gold medal in track and field with an height of 4.30m (14' 1-1/4") at the 2005 Summer Deaflympics.

To read about Southern's record-setting performance at the University of Nebraska Invitational, click here. Steve Beideck, a correspondent for Omaha World-Herald newspaper, profiled Southern in the following article:

Nebraska University vaulter closing out on a roll
By Steve Beideck, Omaha World-Herald correspondent

LINCOLN - As he prepares for his final few collegiate track and field meets, Patrick Southern understands and appreciates his accomplishments as a Nebraska pole vaulter.

Patrick Southern, the Deaflympics gold medal holder, has set a goal of clearing 17 feet.

For starters, he earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors. Last week the senior from Carmel, Ind., tied for sixth place in his first appearance in the Drake Relays. And he has qualified for the May 26-27 NCAA Midwest Regionals in Austin, Texas.

What makes him smile the most, though, is how he has become a role model for both athletes and non-athletes with disabilities.

By clearing a personal best 16 feet, 7-1/4 inches at the April 15 Nebraska Invitational, the 24-year-old Southern became the Huskers' most celebrated deaf athlete since Kenny Walker had NU football fans cheering him with hand signals in 1990.

"The chance to become a role model wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for my teammates and coaches," Southern said. "People appreciate what I've done, but I've also learned a lot from coming to a school like Nebraska."

Less than a year after winning a gold medal at the International Deaflympics in Australia, Southern shattered the 12-year-old world Deaflympics pole vault record by 11 inches.

A world record-holder. Not bad for a guy who decided to take up pole vaulting because no one else on his high school team could fill that role.

"Before that I was a high jumper and ran sprints," Southern said. "I was only clearing 6-2, and all that running and jumping took a toll on my knees."

Southern has been deaf since birth, but he wears a device called a cochlear implant in his left ear that allows him to hear certain sounds. Occasionally his responses are difficult to understand, but the implant and his ability to read lips leave him with few problems holding regular conversations and asking questions.

He can't wear the device while competing, so Southern has never heard the roar of the crowd when scaling new heights. But he knows he has plenty of supporters both in Nebraska and back home in Indiana.

One of Southern's biggest fans is his sister Katie, who also is deaf. Southern said he and his 26-year-old sibling remain close to each other and to their parents, Thomas and Colleen. Thomas Southern is a cosmetic surgeon.

"Katie and I are best friends," Southern said. "We have our own way to communicate."

Southern plans to return to Indiana to teach and, he hopes, to coach pole vaulters. He also hopes to continue vaulting professionally with a team called the Indiana Invaders while helping teach others the sport that has become his passion.

"I'm looking for 17 feet next," Southern said. "I'm using a bigger pole, so now the biggest things are for me to work on my consistency and speed."

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Posted: December 15, 2006