Have you ever pole vaulted? Have you ever seen anyone pole vault? Well, let’s go pole vaulting.
Imagine running full speed down a 100-foot path that is three feet wide carrying a 13-foot pole. Near the end of the path, you will then ‘plant’ the pole into a small metal box, bend the pole, vaulting you into the air, over the crossbar (hopefully) which is 12 feet off the ground, and then landing on your back, into a padded area. It is an extraordinarily difficult sport to master, with perfect vision.
What could go wrong? The possibilities of failure are nearly endless, most of which result in injury. You could injure yourself by missing the plant into the box. You could veer slightly off course and crash into the vertical metal stanchions that support the bar. You could fall backward from 12 feet landing awkwardly on your back, or land on your head fracturing your skull. You could miss the padded area altogether, thus resulting in a fall on a hard surface, perhaps breaking bones. I think that most would agree that these results are potentially painful at a minimum and perhaps catastrophic in the extreme.
Now, let’s try it blindfolded. Why not? Charlotte Brown did. Who?
Let me introduce you to Charlotte Brown. She was born with normal vision, but developed cataracts when she was 16 weeks old, which led to multiple surgeries. Her vision then stabilized until she was 11. Then it began to deteriorate. Charlotte described her vision as though looking through a straw, a pinhole. She couldn’t see color, or distinguish shapes from shadows. She was legally blind.
But, she runs full speed at a stationary object that she can’t see and hurtles herself nearly 12 feet into the air? No problem.
How did she overcome these challenges?
Charlotte had an indomitable attitude, was meticulously detailed, and was a fierce competitor. She used a special tape measure to precisely measure 76 feet 6 inches from the box. She placed 80 feet of dark artificial turf next to the runway in order to provide contrast. She accurately counted her steps. She positioned a beeper at the box where she plants the pole as a form of beacon locator. And, last but not least, her seeing-eye dog, Valdor, was there to support her every step of the way.
Initially, Charlotte was told that she was not allowed to use the various devices and could not have her seeing-eye dog present. The adults opined that she would have an unfair advantage over other athletes. She was undeterred. She lobbied the judges and coaches and demonstrated how she utilized the equipment.
The adults agreed that she did not have an unfair advantage. Rather, the equipment merely provided her a fair way to compete. She challenged the adults and she challenged the process. She was allowed to use devices to enable her to participate and succeed.
It was definitely an innovative approach to pole vaulting and there have been some mishaps along the way. She learned from her mistakes and incrementally made progress by generating small wins. In fact, Charlotte persevered through all of these challenges and amazingly finished 3rd at the state track meet in Texas in 2015.
