Illinois native Emily Grove joined the podcast following a nice little stint in Europe and a solid 4.75m vault in Chula Vista!  Anyone who has ever been around Emily knows that she is an awesome person and has been working hard at this post collegiate pole vaulting thing since she made her first US World Championship Team right out of college.  She shares her struggles and triumphs as a vaulter who has opted to work full time furthering her professional working career, while she simultaneously furthers her professional pole vaulting career.  Not an easy task, but she is doing a great job at it!!! 

Finally, I got to redeem myself after not pressing record at Reno while interviewing Shawn Francis, the founder of Team Hoot, creator of his famous pole vault vlog, and most recently the author of The Pole Vault Toolbox!  If you have ever watched Shawn's vlog, you know how creative and talented he is.  You also know how he is full of energy and fart jokes.  It was so surprising and interesting to see the "everyday" Shawn Francis when he is off the vlog though. I saw a very laidback side of Shawn and the depth of his thought on all the aspects of his life.  I have always respected Shawn and his grind, but I found a whole different level of appreciation for who he is and what he has done for the PV community after this podcast. 

Two time Olympian for Canada, Anicka Newell, was gracious enough to hop on the pod in the middle of her European pole vaulting adventure.  She gave us a look into her life as a professional pole vaulter,  how she got so shredded, where her edgy look came from, what her struggles have been, and how she plans to improve on them.  She was super nice and I can't thank her enough for taking the time to sit down and chat!

The Neo Vault bros!!!!  These two produced four iconic pole vaulting videos back in the 2000s that really changed the pole vaulting culture.  In high school, my brothers and I would watch the surf/skate video style films non stop.  It was cool to hear some of their original ideas, how they produced them, and some funny stories along the way.  Pole vaulting has a unique culture that operates outside of normal track and field, and Neo Vault really exploited that with their fun and motivating videos.  I'm so pumped that I was given the chance to break it all down with the Neo Vault bros.

The great Greg Duplantis joined the podcast today and added to the crazy European traveling stories of Pat Manson last week.  I was really taken back by so many parts of this podcast, but I think the one that has really been sticking with me is the grassroots story of him vaulting in high school with limited equipment and coaching but still becoming an 18 footer in high school.  That is insane!!!  We talked about the differences in today's vaulters compared to the vaulters of his era, why he thinks Mondo is able to do what he does, and so many different things in between.  There are some podcasts that could literally go for 5 hours or more, and this was one of them.  The amount of experience that Greg brings to the table on both the athlete side and the coaching side of the pole vault is very unique and I was honored to be able to tap into a little of that in this episode.

One of the most likable people in the pole vaulting community, Pat Manson, graced the podcast with his wisdom and AMAZING STORIES!!!  As far as funny and wild stories in Europe goes, this podcast has got to be one of the best so far.  So many cool stories about some of history's best vaulters.  It was so fun to hear about the adventures that Pat and company had traveling around Europe trying to make it as a professional pole vaulter.  After getting to know Pat, I think that adventure has really increased the richness of his life.  He mentions so many times in this podcast about  doing hard things and the power of experiencing things beyond your comfort zone.  This podcast was difficult to make happen, but as stated above, most great things in life come at the expense of hard work, and this podcast is a great example of that.

What an awesome surprise!  Katie and I have been trying to schedule a new pod episode for a little while now, and scheduling podcasts is always the most difficult part of podcasting.  Everyone is busy and it is SOOO difficult to get schedules to line up.  When she mentioned that Holly was going to be in town and they were both willing to hop on, it was a no brainer, drop everything and record (or not record) situation.  I am very appreciative of these ladies and their willingness to open up about some potentially vulnerable topics such as the Post Olympics Blues, the effects of mixing money and the pole vault, and many others.  I think the biggest take away from this episode for me was the incredible value of a good friend.  Holly and Katie's friendship originates in the pole vault, but the roots run so much deeper now.  This event, even though it provides great frustration at times, has been so good to so many people, and I think that Katie and Holly would agree that their friendship is one of the greatest things the pole vault has provided them with.

The Saudi Arabian National Record Holder with 5.70m (18'8 1/4), Hussain Al Hizam graced the podcast today bringing a very unique story and perspective perspective.  He tells us all about his journey learning how to pole vault  and basically building their own vault program in Saudi Arabia.  It was a way different path than everyone that we have had on the podcast thus far.  He is an incredible athlete and incredible person, and we wish him all the best!  Thanks for coming on Hussain!

Sandi Morris joined the podcast fresh off of her Indoor USA Championship victory advancing her to the Indoor World Championships.  The outdoor American Record holder with a vault of 5.00m really provided a deep dive into her  journey in the pole vault.  This episode is chock full of gems that pertain to pole vaulters, and people in general,  on how to battle through adversity, live a balanced life, and continue to pursue the the absolute best you.  Thank you so much Sandi, and I hope we can do it again sometime!

Chris Nilsen becomes the first repeat guest on the One More Jump Podcast and it was so nice to catch up on how much his life and career has changed since the last time we talked to him in 2020.  Since that time he has earned an Olympic silver medal and has just recently become the American indoor record holder at a height of 6.02 meters or 19'9 (I had to bust out the conversion chart in my Pole Vault Log Book for that one).  Another incredible conversation with one of the worlds best pole vaulters.  Thank you Chris!!!