Payton Jordan US Open

Palo Alto, CA- As smooth as the trip and exciting as the meet at the Adidas HomeDepot Meet was, my trip to the Payton Jordan US Open was equally bumpy and dull. I arrived into the San Jose airport later than expected because of a plane mix-up in Baton Rouge. Unlike last week, where I was unexpectedly picked up by a limo; this week my meet management organized shuttle was no where to be found and I had to wait about 2 hours to get to the hotel. The meet itself was pretty lackluster. Attendance seemed low, performances were sub-par, and the fields weren’t nearly as deep as from the Adidas Classic. John Godina did throw well again but was a little off from last week. The top event though was probably the pole vault. Jacob Pauli beat one of the best fields in the meet and Tracy O’Hara set an all-time best in winning the women’s pole vault at 15’1. Unfortunately for Tracy, meet management decided a couple days before the meet not to award any prize money to the women’s vault. As a result, Tracy missed out on the $4,000 that most other event winners received. Now, I am perfectly aware of the financial restrictions and limitations that meet organizers face but to not award prize money to one of track’s marquee events seems ridiculous, especially when such a quality field is assembled.Things like this is why the United State’s very own greatest athlete’s in the world would rather travel overseas where they are truly appreciated than compete at home.