On Feb. 1, pole vaulter Vika Osipenko did the unthinkable, setting a new standard by becoming the first woman in school history to top the 12 foot mark in the event.Last weekend, she accomplished that feat again when the Cavaliers traveled to Blacksburg for the Tech Challenge.
Reaching such extreme heights has taken plenty of effort but relatively few years for the 23-year old born in St. Petersburg, Russia. It would surprise many track fans to learn that Osipenko waited until she arrived at Virginia to choose pole vault as her main event. While at Atlee High School in Mechanicsville, Virginia, Osipenko focused primarily on the hurdles and occasionally sprint relays.
Working with her father, Val Osipenko, as a coach for Virginia has been extremely influential for Osipenko. In his younger days, the senior Osipenko competed in the pole vault for the Russian national team.
"I wasn't sure if I was going to do track in college," Vika Osipenko said. "Now my dad's coached us the past two years and I wish he'd been here longer."
The best part about doing track, the younger Osipenko said, is the competition. The challenge in pole vault, which also can turn into an advantage, is that the athlete has the chance of knowing which standard to reach before aiming for the goal.
As for the school record, Osipenko stressed that distinguishing between that mark and the old one have little to do with physical ability or an increase in strength over the years.
"Pole-vault is a pretty mental event," she said. "Moving to that next mark is hard."
Osipenko and the rest of the pole vaulters put in lots of hours, running with the sprinters in the preseason as well as lifting and doing gymnastics in their training.
In her spare time Osipenko enjoys reading and hanging out with the team. She is a double major in economics and Russian.
One important change she noticed from high school track, where she was the 1999 Central Region Pole Vault champion, is that the team at Virginia has formed into a more cohesive unit.
"We're all really close," she said."High school cross-country was more cliquey, where different groups formed and kind of separated from each other. Here we have a great group to spend a lot of time with."
Osipenko has served her role well in guiding some of the younger pole vaulters on the team.
"Vika's the oldest, so she's kind of like our lead," freshman pole vaulter Alicia Laroche said. "Her dad's obviously had a huge impact as well."
Osipenko's father also notes that their bond helps.
"We have similar interests," he said. "We can relate.
Having picked up the record, Osipenko will now be able to take her skills against the top powers of the conference in this weekend's ACC Indoor Championships in Chapel Hill.
"Our goal is to get to the top of the ACCs, and we're hoping for at least a top three performance," Osipenko said.
With her mind set above target, she can help make that happen.
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