If you guys are interested, WSU high jumper Shawn Swartz was diagnosed with leukemia a few days before the Pac-10 championships last year. He's been in chemo since may and will continue treatment for some time more. To support Shawn in his recovery, WSU Track and Field is selling wristbands in his name. Shawns a great kid who just wants to get back on the track and I encourage all of you to get one. All the information needed is in the link below. Thanks a lot!!

http://wsucougars.cstv.com/sports/c-track/.../092409aaa.html

Thanks Jesse.

I'm confused though. I saw that Grant was at Kentucky. Do they not compete at the NCAA's? Or maybe I a missing something.

Good info on possible 2.45. I had no idea that no one since 1991 had gone over 2.40 outdoors. Then that means that what you, Andra are doing is absolutely incredible. You aboth have jumps at the 2.35 level or better outdoors are pretty young jumpers and have some time before you get to the prime of your careers.

I am really looking forward to getting a chance to attend some meets with the pro jumpers. It will huge for my son to be in that atmosphere. We have watched tons of video, but there will be nothing like actually seeing it in person. He needs to see the bar at the heights and stand under it to truly appreciate what it is going to take for him to get there.


Have you started indoor prep yet or are you still enjoying some down time?

How much of an impact did the retirement of Stefan Holm have on the sport? One of the best jumpers of all time just walked away to play soccer.

Holm did not walk away to play soccer. He walked away and started playing soccer for fun. He works for a University a few hours out of the day to keep busy as well. But the sport is defintely different without him. He was one of the greatest high jumpers of all time. High jumping is young right now and I feel now with our group of young jumpers rising up we will be able to fill in the gaps Holm left.

Will Manson, Ukhov, Rybakov or Williams have any attempts at 2.40 + this year? Any others possibly?

Attempting yes! This past year I have seen Andra attempt jumping at 2.41m and I know personally I have jumped at 2.38m and been fairly close. Making a height like that is much more difficult. I am not saying it wont happen, Ukhov jumped 2.40m indoors last year, but someone is going to have to have everything firing at the right time. With as much talent in the sport as we have right now it wouldnt surprise me to have a guy jump 2.40m next year.

Who do you think will be the next jumper to break the 2.45 barrier?

2.45m is the world record. The world record was set in 1993!?!? and no one has even come close to attempting that height since then. In fact only one other person beside Sotomayor has jumped 2.40m outdoors in almost 20 years (since 1991, Charles Austin)! Who do I think is the next world record holder? The only person that could have a chance next year I believe is Andrey Silnov but he was injured last year. He was close to jumping 2.42m at the Olympic games last year which would have been the 2nd highest jump ever. In a few years you never know who could be jumping at that level it could be a number of people. There has to be a progression leading up to a jump like 2.45m. One will have to get over the 2.40m barrier first.

What kind of impact will Scott Sellers have moving to the pro ranks?

We will see what happens with Scott. He has a great coach, great support staff and is a very gifted athlete. He has all the tools around him which gives him a great chance to have a successful career as a professional.

Is Grant the heir apparent in the NCAA's?

Grant needs to get into a school at the NCAA level before we could start talking about him winning at that level. He obviously has the tools to win as he has proven time and time again.

No I mean 2.45 (current world record)

Is there anyone on the horizon that may take any attempts at that height this year?


Is Grant the heir apparent in the NCAA?

What I mean is this. With Scott Sellers moving on the the pro ranks do you think that Grant Lindsey will take Scott's place as the dominant jumper in the NCAA?

I just think that as of now he is best positioned to win indoors or outdoors the next couple of years.

I personally believe that Silnov was going to get close to 2.45+, but the injuries really slowed him down this year.
Any other people, haven't come close to that height since. Also with Uhkov indoors at 2.40.

How much of an impact did the retirement of Stefan Holm have on the sport? One of the best jumpers of all time just walked away to play soccer.

He didn't "just walk away". He wanted to end his career on a high note since he was getting older and didn't feel the spring in his legs like he used to. He could have jumped a lil longer if he really wanted to, but he didn't want to end on a low note.


Will Manson, Ukhov, Rybakov or Williams have any attempts at 2.40 + this year? Any others possibly?

I think we'll see some 2.40 attempts from Williams and Manson, and probably Ukhov, but I don't see Rybakov attempting any higher than 2.38


Who do you think will be the next jumper to break the 2.45 barrier?

Um... do you mean 2.40 barrier?

What kind of impact will Scott Sellers have moving to the pro ranks?

I think he has some great jumps in him as a pro now. Hopefully 2.30+ consistently

Is Grant the heir apparent in the NCAA's?

I don't get that question

How much of an impact did the retirement of Stefan Holm have on the sport? One of the best jumpers of all time just walked away to play soccer.


Will Manson, Ukhov, Rybakov or Williams have any attempts at 2.40 + this year? Any others possibly?


Who do you think will be the next jumper to break the 2.45 barrier?


What kind of impact will Scott Sellers have moving to the pro ranks?


Is Grant the heir apparent in the NCAA's?



I am looking forward to this season.

Thanks Grant. We appreciate the support.

Looking forward to big things from you in the future. I will be sure to come up and shake your hand and introduce myself the next time we are at a meet together. Hopefully it will be at USATF indoors in NM, or at one of the indoor meets prior to that........................

first of all, i want to announce a personal disclaimer about how much i respect all of the mentioned jumpers in this argument- first of all jesse, who has become a standard of athleticism and sportsmanship that we can all learn a valuable lesson from. then of course there is andra, who is also undeniably one of the US' and world's best jumpers. ivan diggs knows the respect that i have for him as a man and as a jumper as we have jumped against each other on multiple occasions and have always gotten along very well.

that being said, i would simply like to say that i have read all of the posts in this conversation (argument), and i have come to defend Toddrick Allen, not to mention his father. who in this conversation wouldn't be happy to have had a father as involved and proud of them as he is of his son? jesse requested personal opinions as a way to stimulate activity on this site (which might i remind you is here to promote US high jumping, not personal s*** talk), and as long as we all understand that, i do not see how all of the personal attacks started. let me say on behalf of toddrick, his father's remarks, whether offensive to you or not, were not from toddrick's mouth. no one should be speaking to his father in such a condescending manner in regards to toddrick unless they themselves are ready to receive the personal critiques of the HJ elite in the US (which we all know each one of us is susceptible to)! a father's pride in his son's accomplishments is nothing to poke fun or take cheap shots at, it's something to be admired. again, whether or not you agree with his comments is irrelevant to me. this is a board about opinions, not facts alone, and thus i feel that it is completely unreasonable for anyone to bring toddrick into this as if he had been bragging about his own accomplishments on the site. when it comes to a father's pride, i wouldn't call it bragging, i simply call it a father's love. shame on everyone on this page who has singled out toddrick as if he was on here boasting about his accomplishments, calling him out through his father, challenging his abilities with statements such as "when YOUR SON does this!" i hope that toddrick DOES accomplish all of the things that those comments have challenged him to do. all of us should feel the same, since this site was created to strengthen US HJ, not criticize each HJer individually!

to toddrick, not his father (who knows if he even looks at this, we all know his father does! lol jk): you have all the talent in the world that it takes to succeed at the college level. let this be a lesson to you that not all scrutiny is worth listening to. as some might say, haters are everywhere, and it takes a great athlete to perform inspite of all of his negative surroundings. i hope, as a fellow Texas 5A state champ (along with andra) that you can continue to shake off the complaints of all of the critics besides your coach. trust in him, work hard, and i'm sure you'll do great. i'll be watching for you buddy.

to toddrick's dad: a father's love is a very powerful thing. i hope to see your continued support for your son. i have found nothing wrong with the opinions you have mentioned, and in fact, i agree with you about the US' issue with inconsistency. maybe me and jess can do something about it next year! haha anyways, i don't feel like there's anything wrong with the opinions you've stated or the amount of support you've shown for your son. allen family- keep up the good work!

-grant lindsey
THE NEXT BIG THING

@ feelsogood1983

You are right absolutely correct about what you are saying. I think some of my earlier comments did not really indicate that I understand that the higher the PR the more the improvements are measured in smaller increments.

For a jumper that has a 7'5" pr and has a 4cm improvement, that would put them at the level of the best in the world right now. For a jumper like Andra to have had a 7'7" pr and have a 4cm improvement, that puts him among the best 2% in the history of the event.

So I defintely need to make sure that I state that because I have been getting killed by people on here thinking that I do not respect his accomplishments based on my comments.