Editor’s note: Local pole vaulter Steve Hanes, president of the Key West Track & Field Club and creator of the annual Pole Vault in Paradise event, recently placed second in the USA Track & Field Nationals and the World Masters Athletics PanAm Games. Hanes will once again bring Olympic pole vaulters to Key West for the Jan. 4 Pole Vault in Paradise demonstration, which benefits the Key West Track & Field Club. The Keys Weekly caught up with Hanes, who surprised us with some connections between Key West and the recent Paris Olympics.
What could Key West possibly have in common with Olympic pole-vaulting? There are several ties, actually. The island record holders for Pole Vault in Paradise — and last year’s winners — Katrina Stefanidi and Anicka Newell, both just competed in this year’s Paris Olympics. Katrina is a former Olympic gold medal winner. Twelve athletes in the US Olympic Trials have competed in Key West’s Pole Vault in Paradise.
Also, our local event, now in its fifth year, is sanctioned by USA Track & Field (USATF), the same organization that runs the U.S. Olympic Trials and sends our young men and women to the Olympics. Six USATF officials ran our event last year.
Who else comes to Key West for Pole Vault in Paradise? We’ve had vaulters from 7 to 82 years old, including some American age-group record holders. Everyone wants to come to Key West to vault, especially in the winter. More than 100 vaulters from about six countries and about 20 states have come for the event. Unfortunately, the high cost of accommodations prevents many athletes from coming every year.
You had a pretty impressive pole-vaulting career yourself, still holding your high school record in Kansas. Do you still compete at age 69? I do. I just got back to Key West after eight weeks of traveling and competing in Masters events in Fort Lauderdale and Naples; Port Aransas, College Station and Austin, Texas; Miramar and Sacramento, California and then Cleveland, Ohio, where I placed second in the PanAm Games, which are held every four years. I also took second in the USATF Masters Nationals in Sacramento. I now compete in the 65-69 age group. But in many meets, I compete in “Open” categories that are based on ability, not age, so I frequently compete against high school kids and tell them, “Don’t let your grandpa beat you.”
Pole Vault in Paradise raises money for the Key West Track & Field Club. What does the club do? Key West Track & Field Club’s mission is to raise money for Key West area high school track and field teams and promote the sport of track and field within the Lower Keys community. Our major initiatives include financial support for the Key West High School track team. We provide support that pays for transportation to meets and for new equipment. The club also aims to create a track and field program for middle school students and a Masters-level program for competitors over 30.
Check us out at kwtfc.org and join us Jan. 4, 2025 at Higgs Beach for Pole Vault in Paradise.
