It’s Sunday morning, and this seems like a nice and happy feature story to share around EMUTalk.org: from Annarbor.com, “Eastern Michigan professor Howard Booth, 67, one of state’s best Senior Olympian pole vaulters.” The opening lines:
Howard Booth was curious. He cut down the sapling in his three-acre backyard and shaped it into a pole to “see if he still could get up there.”
After all, he’d only taken a 40-year hiatus from pole vaulting. It couldn’t be that hard, right?
Booth’s pole vaulting test came six years ago. Now 67, the longtime biology professor in the Eastern Michigan University finished tied the second-best pole vault at the Michigan Senior Olympics Summer Games in late July, clearing 9 feet, 6 inches. The winning vault of 10-6 was done by a 50-year-old and is well within Booth’s normal range. He also competed in the long jump, finishing fifth.
Congrats Prof. Booth!
