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August 27, 2004 7:28 pm

Pole-vaulter follows plan to gold-medal perfection

By MIKE PRATER

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - Timothy Mack is such a methodical pole-vaulter, he doesn't allow himself to enjoy the moment, even when it's the biggest one of his life.

That's probably why he's the new Olympic gold medalist and Olympic record-holder.

The former University of Tennessee vaulter spiced up his resume Friday night by outthinking, and outperforming, a world-class field inside Olympic Stadium. He was the only vaulter to clear 19 feet, 6 1/4 inches, breaking the Olympic record shared by three people from the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.

When Mack crossed the bar for the final time, he simply pumped his fists. He took a routine victory lap-and-a-half draped in an American flag.

He even smiled. A little bit.

``Yeah, I was thinking that maybe I should be enjoying this more,'' said the 31-year-old veteran. ``Don't get me wrong, this is going to hit me, and I'm going to enjoy it just like everybody else does.

``Probably after a few moments on my own, it's going to come together and it's going to be awesome.''

American teammate Toby Stevenson cleared 19-4 1/4 to capture silver as the Americans pulled a repeat from Sydney, where Nick Hysong and another former Tennessee vaulter, Lawrence Johnson, finished 1-2.

Giuseppe Gibilisco of Italy won bronze.

``You knew coming in that everybody was going to bring their A game,'' Stevenson said. ``And everybody brought it, including myself and including Tim Mack, and luckily for us, we're bringing home the gold and the silver.''

The final three vaulters survived a four-hour battle that wasn't decided until Mack's third attempt jump at the winning height. Until then, Stevenson was in position for gold.

Mack's stuck with his game plan to the end, a plan he memorizes and keeps in a nearby notebook.

He knew exactly what he wanted on that final jump.

``It's such a big jump that you can sit there and think, `OK, I'm down to my last attempt and I might not make this,' '' he said. ``So then you go back to step one and step two and just keeping thinking to yourself, 'Stick to the plan, stick to the plan.' ''

The plan includes body positioning, posture and arm movements. Just before he heads down the runway, Mack talks to himself as a reminder to do those things.

You can see the lips working.

``I just keep saying it over and over and over and over,'' Mack said. ``That's basically all I said all night, I don't even know, a couple hundred thousand times. But that's what you have to do to keep your mind focused on one objective. ... I just never let go of that.''

And what was Mack thinking when he nailed the winning jump?

``I was just thinking six meters (19-8 1/4),'' he said.

A man who started vaulting because he didn't want to run is an Olympic champion with an Olympic record. His previous best in an international championship was a sixth place at the 2003 worlds.

The record-breaking performance was aided by a close friend, Tim O'Hare, who traveled from Knoxville, Tenn., to Athens at the last minute.

The airplane ticket cost O'Hare about $2,000, Mack said.

``He was sitting at home on the couch and just decided to come, and I'm glad, because he's my good-luck charm,'' Mack said.

All night long, Mack looked into the stands and got wind directions from O'Hare.

``I think I owe him at least half that plane ticket,'' Mack said.

Mack also fed off his U.S. teammates, including Derek Miles, who finished seventh after peaking at 18-10 1/4.

``I could tell that Tim Mack has had it for about a month,'' Miles said. ``He came to our training facility in Arkansas two weeks before the (Olympic) trials and took some really good cracks at six meters and I thought, 'Wow, he's a whole new jumper.' ''

And now he has the medal to prove it.

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