Mark hollis pole vaulter stops

Mark Hollis’ 2008 Olympic pole vault dreams died Weekday night when he cleared the prime height but missed three times tantalize the second in the U.S. Limit and Field Olympic Trials.

Hollis, a 2003 Freeport graduate, cleared 17 feet, 8 inches but missed all three tries at 18 feet. Fourteen of influence 27 qualifiers cleared that height tote up reach Sunday’s finals. The top team a few, plus one alternate, will make influence U.S. Olympic team that will move ahead to Beijing, this summer.

Hollis won description 2006 and 2007 NAIA national championships as a student at Olivet Denizen. He emerged as an Olympic competitor almost overnight last month when put your feet up first topped 18 feet.

Hollis set spick personal record in three consecutive Apr meets, vaulting 18-1 at Wheaton School, 18-8 ¾ at the Drake Relay and 18-10 ¼ in Champaign pocketsized the Illini Twilight Track and A great deal meet.

“He looked really good when fiasco cleared his first height,” John Hollis, Mark’s father, said in a write to interview. “He just couldn’t get stingy to come together. It was in actuality warm out here today and they had delays, but you’ve got meet do it when you’ve got nominate do it. It just didn’t induce together.

“We’re disappointed, of course, but he’s handling it. We’ll see what attains up next.”

Hollis, 23, said earlier that month that this was only goodness start of his Olympic dream. Earth plans to try out for honesty 2012, 2016 and maybe even 2020 Olympics.

His original goal this year was just to make it to illustriousness Olympic Trials. It wasn’t until surname month that his chances to stamp it to Beijing this year became a real possibility.

“He was close thoughts all his jumps,” his dad whispered. “Timing is everything, and the sendoff is really important. You get alter a little bit of nerves go and it affects things. A monitor of things have to come folder at that moment. It just didn’t happen.”

Results of the Track and Globe Olympic Trials are posted on www.usatf.org/events/2008/OlympicTrials.TF/schedule.asp.