BRAD WALKER
Event: Pole Vault
Height: 6-2
Weight: 185
PR: 6.04m/19-9.75AR (2008)
Born: June 21, 1981, in Aberdeen, S.D.
Current Residence: Mountlake Terrace, Wash.
High School: University (Spokane, Wash.) HS ‘99
College: Washington ‘03
Coach: Pat Lacari
Agent: Peter Stubbs
Club: Nike 

Career Highlights: 3rd at 2008 Olympic Trials; 2007 World Outdoor champion; 2006 World Indoor champion; 2008 World Indoor silver medalist; 2005 World Outdoor silver medalist; Two-time USA Outdoor Champion (’05, ’07); Three-time USA Indoor champion (’05, ’06, ‘08); Two-time NCAA Indoor champion; Two-time Pac-10 champion

Walker qualified for his first ever U.S. Olympic Team with his third-place finish at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. Walker was ranked as the world’s #1 pole vaulter for the second time in his career in 2007 posting wins at the AT&T USA Outdoor Championships, the World Outdoor Championships and the World Athletics Final. Walker also posting the highest clearance in the world in 2007 with 5.95m/19-6.25 in Brisbane, Australia. After winning the 2006 USA Indoor men’s pole vault title, Walker faced a great deal of adversity at the World Indoor Championships in Moscow when he fell and hit his head outside the pit during a practice attempt prior to the qualifying round. He went on to qualify for the final and won it with a clutch seasonal best clearance of 5.80 meters/19-0.25 on his third attempt at that height. "I understated how fast I was moving on the runway during warm-ups and I rotated into the pit and went off to the side," said Walker of his mishap. "My feet and legs hit the pit and threw my back and head onto the track and I hit my head. The lights went out for a while and I got back up and qualified. I had a little bit of a whiplash. I had a CT scan thanks to the Russian Federation and it was determined that I was stable and healthy, which was the most important thing to me.” Walker’s winning personal best clearance of 6.00m/19-8.25 at Jockgrim on July 19 was the world’s best in 2006. Walker enjoyed a remarkable season in 2005 that featured wins at the 2005 USA Indoor and Outdoor Championships and a silver medal at the World Outdoor Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable wins for Walker came at the Nike Prefontaine Classic and IAAF Grand Prix events in Paris, Sheffield and Rieti, where his winning clearance of 5.96 meters/19-6.50 made him the #6 American performer ever in the men’s pole vault. He ended the 2005 season with the #1 ranking in the world from Track & Field News...was a recipient of the Pac-10 Medal, awarded to the top male and female student-athletes at each Pac-10 institution ... captured the NCAA indoor pole vault title with a vault of 5.80m/19-0.25 that was nearly nine inches beyond his nearest competitor, and equaled the winning mark at the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships ... became the first athlete in Pac-10 history to clear 19 feet, breaking by three inches the previous Pac-10 record of 5.72m/18-9.25 set by Stanford's Toby Stevenson in 2000 ... finished the indoor season tied with American Derek Miles and France's Romain Mesnil for third in the 2003 IAAF World Rankings, and tied Miles for the best indoor vault by an American in 2003…outdoors in 2003 saw his bid for an NCAA Championships double dashed by a broken hand just days prior to the NCAA West Regional meet. He is regarded as Washington's best vaulter since Brian Sternberg, who in 1963 broke the world record twice before injuring himself in a training accident. As a prep star he led University High to consecutive state track and field championships in 1998 and 1999… was 1999 regional and district pole vault champion and finished second at the state meet...also lettered in football…a business administration major.

6/30/08