Fil-American pole vaulter Elijah Cole is confident that he will be in a better shape this year.
The 25-year-old Cole said this after his best effort saw him getting a silver medal over the weekend in the Carolina Challenge at the South Carolina Indoor Track and Field Complex in Columbia, South Carolina.
Cole leapt to a height of 5.26 meters, behind Keon Howe, who won the gold in 5.46 meters, ahead of Parker Samuelson (4.76 meters).
“It was a good start. Just happened to have a lot things lineup between my (training) run and my new poles,” said Cole in an interview with the Manila Standard.
Cole is set to join a series of indoor meets in the East Coast in the next three months of the US indoor season, before joining outdoor meets to get IAAF points that will set him to a path towards Olympic qualification. And this include the Philippine National Open.
Cole, who holds the US NCAA East records in indoor and outdoor meets, is getting out of a slump and his worst year (2023), when he was far from his record best of 5.28 meters in the 2020 US Indoor Championships.
He is also trying to get back into his usual form after achieving an NCAA East Preliminaries record of 5.35 meters back in 2021.
“I just need to be technically consistent. My PB (personal best) is 5.41,” said Cole, referring to the mark he made at the High Point Meet of Champions Invitationals back in 2022.
Last year, Cole made an effort to make it to the Cambodian Southeast Asian Games after winning the gold in the National Open in Ilagan, Isabela with a 5.05-meter leap.
Cole, who hopes to see action again in the ‘Open’ this May and have a better showing, finished college at University of North Carolina in Charlottesville.
He admitted that he had a difficult time transitioning out of college life at the time and he needed a certain period to get adjusted.
“This year, I just plan on jumping as high as I can and as soon as I can,” added Cole, adding that the journey of Ernest John “EJ” Obiena as one of the world’s top pole vaulters has inspired him as his successes have rubbed off on him.