Lexi Jacobus Arkansas Vault Club

(listen below in Lexi’s own words)

“My name is Lexi Jacobus, and I am sharing my thoughts about this picture that I am looking at right now from the 2016 Olympic trials.

Wow.

It seems like forever ago that this this moment happened.

It seems like it was almost another lifetime.

I know it’s only been four years, but, wow, so much has happened since then. I can just in this moment look at this picture brings back so many memories, so many emotions. Obviously, I was I was in so much joy and honestly just disbelief that I was crying. And the funny thing is, when I made the Olympic team by realizing I had finished at least third place, which is what I end up finishing at.

I just remember that I started crying and I cried for like the next several hours. And I was just in such disbelief that this that I had become an Olympian at this moment, going into this day I was 19 years old. I had just finished my freshman year of college where I won both indoor and outdoor NCAA titles, which was just an amazing year in itself. And so I went into the Olympic trials. I was honestly I was just excited to be there and to compete against the best pole vaulters in the country.

You know, I had just come out of high school year before, so going from high school to college obviously was a big jump in the level of competition competing against, you know, just the best collegians, but then now going to competing against not only collegians, but professionals. And that was just an exciting moment in itself and nerve wracking. I remember going into this day, so this was, you know, finals. We’d already had prelims where I qualified.

I had a great prelims and I went to the finals and before before the day started, you know, I was like “You know, I don’t expect to make the team, but I think I have the ability to do it.” I think I could do it if I had a great day. But, you know, I kind of I didn’t put that pressure on myself. I just went into the day hoping to have a lot of fun and to jump well and just gain a lot of experience in this meet.

And, you know, as the meet progressed, office jumping really well. I made every single bar on my first attempt until my very last bar. And after I just after I cleared 15′ 3″, which which put me on the team, I was just like, oh, I can’t even put into words the emotion, the excitement I had. And then finally realizing I made the team and then going back into through media was where this picture was taken and I just couldn’t stop crying.

I was just in disbelief of what I had accomplished that day. You know, for I think most athletes across the world, this is this is the dream to be an Olympian. And I had realized that this that it came true. I was going to go to Rio. I’ve never even been out of the country. And I was going to travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to compete for Team USA on literally the biggest stage in the world.And I just remember disbelief, like I said, disbelief that that it was happening.

So, you know, just fast forward four years to now. So much has happened. And I’ve just had so many wonderful experiences with track and field and pole vaulting. And obviously the Olympics are pushed back another year. So that dream’s become a, you know, a two time Olympian is a little delayed. But but the drive is still there.

I think seeing that this picture and other moments from that day, it just re lights that that fire and inside.

I want to have this feeling again.

I want to be crying because I’m just so overjoyed by the moment and the experience and what it means to represent, the United States on such a big stage.

I hope that in a year from now, I can be in the same position. I’ll probably be crying in the same way because of just what it means to be an Olympian, you know, but I hope that I can make it to that stage again one day and represent Team USA again.”