110th NYRR Millrose Games Diaries: Ekaterina Stefanidi and Sandi Morris speak on the pole vault

Ekaterina Stefanidi and Sandi Morris, the gold and silver medalist from Rio Olympics, are competing in the women’s pole vault at the Millrose Games on Saturday, February 11, 2017. Ekaterina won the NB Indoor GP and Sandi Morris has won two meetings in France. It should be a fine competition.

Ekaterina Stefanidi, Rio 2016, photo by PhotoRun.net

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Sandi Morris, Rio 2016, photo by PhotoRun.net

Here’s a quick interview, done at the Millrose Press Conference, held on Friday, February 10, 2017. Special thanks to Nick Nicholas for these quotes.

To learn more about the 2017 Millrose Games, please go to http://www.nyrrmillrosegames.org/meet-schedule/. Remember, USATF.TV will show LIVE from 12 Eastern to 4 PM Eastern. NBC will go from 4 PM to 6 PM.

110th Millrose Games Press Conference Quotes

Katerina Stefanidi

Question: How did you celebrate after winning your gold medal?

Katerina: In the large sports the Olympics is their last competition. We had to keep competing after Rio. There was so no celebrating yet. I had three meets and some people had more meets. We have to keep focused. The pole vault is a dangerous event and you can’t just because you want the Olympics or an Olympic medal.

Sandi Morris

Question: Are you and Katerina friends and do you talk during the competition?

Sandi: All pole vaulters are pretty friendly. I’m very bubbly and outgoing. I probably talk too much. I talk way too much. But I try to stay focused. I tell myself ‘Don’t bother anybody and stop talking to everybody.’ I would say we’re friendly competitors. Pole vault is a very individualized event. It’s really about yourself and your own performance. Every time you step on that runway you’re focusing on your jump and not thinking about what your competitors are doing. It really doesn’t matter. In the end it’s all about you. You don’t want to focus on your competition because that’s not going to get you very far.

Question: How did you celebrate winning your silver medal?

Sandi: I have a little bit of a funny story. Right when I got back from the competition it was two in the morning. I threw my bag in my room. I had to eat. I had nobody to eat with and I just medaled in the Olympics. I walked in the middle of the village and found some random dudes. It was two in the morning and some crazy Aussies are standing their talking and I go, ‘I just won an Olympic medal, do you want to go eat with me?’ They looked at me and thought I was on a phone. They told me that later. I spent that night doing Steve Irwin impersonations in the dining hall in the village. That was a lot of fun with the crazy Aussies. I had a good time.

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 51-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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