“Just more power, just a little more strength or invert and I will have it” were the words pounding in my head as I rode back from my junior year state track meet where I placed 3rd in the women’s pole vault. Four inches is what separated third and first place in the GISA AAA 2019 State Championship. In the world of pole vault, four inches is a big difference, but I was determined and confident that I could train to beat my fellow female competitors. Those four inches became the fuel to my fire as I pushed for 1st place in 2020.
In Maine Class B’s state track meet held on Monday, February 17, there were six inches between first place and second and an even bigger biological gap. This year’s Maine Class B state champion in the women’s pole vault is Katie Spencer, a trans-identifying male, who just two years ago competed as a male by the name of John Rydzewski. My heart sinks for the female vaulters who were competing against Spencer. They were not able to ride home thinking of ways they could improve to one day beat their female competitors. They rode home being unjustly beaten by a boy, whose natural ability surpasses theirs.
Pole Vault is a very technical sport. Your clearance height is dependent upon how consistent and strong your run is, how much power you press into the pole, where your hands are on the pole, which direction you push the pole, how fast you can invert and rotate, and so much more. It is a sport that requires practice and precision at high levels, but natural ability and biological makeup play a massive role.
A male’s center of gravity is up in their chest due to their wider shoulders and naturally higher muscle mass, while a female’s center of gravity is lower due to our wider hips. A male’s center of gravity being higher allows male vaulters to get their feet above their head easier than a woman can. Between the ages of 12-16, a male’s muscle mass develops at rates far ahead of females, specifically in the upper body, thus naturally allowing young boys, like trans-identifying male Katie Spencer, to load more power into a pole and vault higher than females.
I pole vaulted year-round for about three years. When our team practiced at my high school, some of our friends would come over and ask to try a vault. These 16-year-old boys were able to load more power into the pole from their naturally stronger run and press, which allowed them to spring higher than me on their first try.
Their technique was horrible, almost laughable, but their vault height was solid.
I had a very regimented weightlifting program, practiced 4-5 days a week, and was a year-round multi-sport athlete with strong broad shoulders for a female, and those boys, who just were playing around, were able to fly higher than me. It did not bother me, because I knew that biologically it was the way we were created.
It does not matter what division, age, or level of competition. Trans-identifying athletes should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports. Allen Cornwall, a past pole vault official and current coach in Maine’s Class A division, told Outkick that a female athlete from Spencer’s high school, Greely, probably did not try out for the team, because she knew “that she could not defeat Spence and wouldn’t make the team.” This young girl could have had the potential to become a team leader, a great athlete, or even gone to college on scholarship. Because of this trans-identifying athlete, against whom she knew she could not compete, she will never have that opportunity until athletic boards start to stand up for girls like her.
How many more young girls are out there who “know” that they won’t make the team or will ride home defeated without a glimpse of hope that they could work to win next time? How many more males are we going to let take women’s spots, women’s opportunities, and women’s dreams? We must raise the bar for women’s sports for the future of young girls everywhere.