Toby Stevenson
Encyclopedia
Toby "Crash" Stevenson is an Olympic class pole vault
er from the United States
. He is known for being the only pole vaulter in the international elite to wear a helmet during jumps.
, Stevenson set 24 high school
records, taking three district championships, and winning the state title in 1995, when he was also the top-ranked 18-year-old pole vaulter in the world. Stevenson later went on to graduate from Stanford University
which is where he currently coaches pole vault and multi-event athletes.
Since the fall of 2002, Stevenson has been a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California
. He won the 2004 Olympic
silver medal in pole vaulting, the 2003 Pan American Games
gold medal, and the 2004 USA Indoor gold medal.
On Friday, January 29, 2010, he officially retired from pole vaulting at the 2010 National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, NV.
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
er from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He is known for being the only pole vaulter in the international elite to wear a helmet during jumps.
Biography
While attending Permian High SchoolPermian High School
Permian High School is a public high school located in Odessa, Texas and is part of the Ector County Independent School District. It was the subject of the book Friday Night Lights which in turn inspired a movie and TV series of the same name.-History:...
, Stevenson set 24 high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
records, taking three district championships, and winning the state title in 1995, when he was also the top-ranked 18-year-old pole vaulter in the world. Stevenson later went on to graduate from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
which is where he currently coaches pole vault and multi-event athletes.
Since the fall of 2002, Stevenson has been a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California
Chula Vista, California
Chula Vista is the second largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fourteenth largest city in the State of California, and the seventy seventh largest city in the U.S....
. He won the 2004 Olympic
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
silver medal in pole vaulting, the 2003 Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
gold medal, and the 2004 USA Indoor gold medal.
On Friday, January 29, 2010, he officially retired from pole vaulting at the 2010 National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, NV.