Powell competing in the pole vault for Virginia Tech. (Courtesy Hokie Sports)
As the Summer Olympics roll on in Rio, a former Richmond high school pole-vaulting standout, state record-setter and cancer survivor is setting her sights on the next summer games in Tokyo – and figuring out a financial game plan to get there in four years.
Former Patrick Henry High School track star Lizzie Powell, who won multiple state titles and set a state record in the pole vault her senior year of school – one month after doctors declared her cancer-free from a half-year bout with Hodgkin’s lymphoma – is looking ahead to the next summer Olympiad after coming up short for this year’s games.
“I knew that it was a long shot, but I wanted to try it anyways,” she said. “It just didn’t go as well as I hoped. But there’s always another four years.”
Since graduating from the College of William & Mary last year, Powell has been adapting to life as a post-collegiate athlete, learning how to support her Olympic ambitions beyond the resources and support of the Tribe’s athletics department. Still allowed access to the track team’s facilities as a volunteer coach, she is keeping up her training while assessing how to support her pursuits financially outside of school.
Powell said travel costs and meet entry fees make her treat the sport like a business. (Jonathan Spiers)
Committing herself to Tokyo, Powell said she is learning how to approach her sport as a business, complete with a self-sustaining business plan that will allow her to compete in pole-vaulting meets and ultimately pay her way to a chance at a gold medal.
“Most athletes at this level, everything is coming out of their pocket, unless you have sponsorships and other companies investing in them,” Powell said during a stop in Richmond on her way to visit her family in Ashland. “I don’t have that. I’m not at that level just yet.
“Especially with pole-vaulters – I have to fly poles, which can be pricey,” she said. “If you’re traveling to meets that are far away, that’s an additional $200 or so that you have to pay.”
That’s on top of meet entry fees and costs associated with training and taking care of her body. Massages, physical therapy, medical treatment – it’s all on her now to pay for those, she said.
“I can’t just go to the training room anymore and get it. It’s coming out of my own pocket. So I’ve been learning that this year,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Okay, where do I really need to invest and what can I do on my own?'”
Residing in Williamsburg, Powell has been supporting herself and her pole-vaulting pursuits through an assortment of part-time jobs, including a front desk position at a yoga studio and as a nanny for one of her college coaches’ daughters. She said those jobs have allowed her more time to train, but after coming up short in a meet in June to qualify for this year’s Olympic Trials, Powell said she’s reassessing the part-time-work approach.
“Having part-time jobs and then train on the side – I don’t know if that worked out the best,” she said with a laugh. “So we’ll give it another shot.
“My goal is to make the Olympic team in 2020, or at least try for trials. I understand it’s four years from now and life happens and it may not work out, but in between that, you still have all of the national and international meets to qualify for and represent the United States in,” she said.
Powell’s victory over cancer continues to drive her ambition. In 2009, on her 17th birthday, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma – right in the middle of college recruitment, and just five days after she won her first state title.
Powell competing in the pole vault for Virginia Tech. (Courtesy Hokie Sports)
“It was like, how do you go from so high to so low?” she said. “I felt fine. I felt completely normal. I competed (that) Friday and Saturday. Monday, I felt a lump on my neck.”
By Tuesday it had doubled in size – somewhere between a baseball and golf ball, Powell said. Her father, Robert Powell, an emergency medicine doctor at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital, had her checked out and tested, and an x-ray revealed their worst fears, and more: a fist-sized tumor in her chest, six masses in her neck, and a mass on her spine.
“It was just like, how does that happen? I got a CT scan. That showed it was cancer,” she said. “Fortunately I had Hodgkin’s. It’s the better of the two lymphomas for my age group to have.”
After a couple rounds of chemo, Powell’s cancer was in remission, and along the way she received a phone call from one of her idols, Jenn Suhr, the top American pole vaulter for the past 10 years and the defending Olympic champion at this year’s games. Powell said Suhr’s words of encouragement helped her through her fight.
“After that phone call, that switched my mentality to: ‘Okay, I’m getting through this,'” she said.
After setting a state high school pole-vaulting record of 13.3 feet, Powell competed for three years at Virginia Tech but struggled with what she described as a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I developed a mental block where I just could not take off the ground. I would run, feel like everything was great, and would just be scared. It was like I hit a brick wall,” she said.
She transferred to William & Mary, where she found her footing and ultimately achieved her then-personal best of 13.8 feet.
“It got me out of my comfort zone and helped me,” she said. “My mental block was broken.”
Powell said she was hoping to clear at least 14 feet this season to have a chance at the Olympics. Looking ahead to Tokyo, she said she’s aiming for 14.5 feet or higher, which she said is Olympic-level.
“I know I’m there,” she said. “I know I can jump it, and I know I have more left in me to go higher.”
Powell said she also knows she will make it to Tokyo four years from now. As she reaches new heights, she said her chances at sponsorships would increase as well.
Until then, she said the challenge will be not only clearing an ever-rising bar, but also clearing the hurdles of making a business out of sport.
“It’s tough. It’s a different lifestyle. But it’s worth it,” she said. “You’re following your dream.”
Editor’s note: If you, a coworker or someone you know around town have an exciting or unique pastime, drop us a line at [email protected].
Powell competing in the pole vault for Virginia Tech. (Courtesy Hokie Sports)
As the Summer Olympics roll on in Rio, a former Richmond high school pole-vaulting standout, state record-setter and cancer survivor is setting her sights on the next summer games in Tokyo – and figuring out a financial game plan to get there in four years.
Former Patrick Henry High School track star Lizzie Powell, who won multiple state titles and set a state record in the pole vault her senior year of school – one month after doctors declared her cancer-free from a half-year bout with Hodgkin’s lymphoma – is looking ahead to the next summer Olympiad after coming up short for this year’s games.
“I knew that it was a long shot, but I wanted to try it anyways,” she said. “It just didn’t go as well as I hoped. But there’s always another four years.”
Since graduating from the College of William & Mary last year, Powell has been adapting to life as a post-collegiate athlete, learning how to support her Olympic ambitions beyond the resources and support of the Tribe’s athletics department. Still allowed access to the track team’s facilities as a volunteer coach, she is keeping up her training while assessing how to support her pursuits financially outside of school.
Powell said travel costs and meet entry fees make her treat the sport like a business. (Jonathan Spiers)
Committing herself to Tokyo, Powell said she is learning how to approach her sport as a business, complete with a self-sustaining business plan that will allow her to compete in pole-vaulting meets and ultimately pay her way to a chance at a gold medal.
“Most athletes at this level, everything is coming out of their pocket, unless you have sponsorships and other companies investing in them,” Powell said during a stop in Richmond on her way to visit her family in Ashland. “I don’t have that. I’m not at that level just yet.
“Especially with pole-vaulters – I have to fly poles, which can be pricey,” she said. “If you’re traveling to meets that are far away, that’s an additional $200 or so that you have to pay.”
That’s on top of meet entry fees and costs associated with training and taking care of her body. Massages, physical therapy, medical treatment – it’s all on her now to pay for those, she said.
“I can’t just go to the training room anymore and get it. It’s coming out of my own pocket. So I’ve been learning that this year,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Okay, where do I really need to invest and what can I do on my own?'”
Residing in Williamsburg, Powell has been supporting herself and her pole-vaulting pursuits through an assortment of part-time jobs, including a front desk position at a yoga studio and as a nanny for one of her college coaches’ daughters. She said those jobs have allowed her more time to train, but after coming up short in a meet in June to qualify for this year’s Olympic Trials, Powell said she’s reassessing the part-time-work approach.
“Having part-time jobs and then train on the side – I don’t know if that worked out the best,” she said with a laugh. “So we’ll give it another shot.
“My goal is to make the Olympic team in 2020, or at least try for trials. I understand it’s four years from now and life happens and it may not work out, but in between that, you still have all of the national and international meets to qualify for and represent the United States in,” she said.
Powell’s victory over cancer continues to drive her ambition. In 2009, on her 17th birthday, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma – right in the middle of college recruitment, and just five days after she won her first state title.
Powell competing in the pole vault for Virginia Tech. (Courtesy Hokie Sports)
“It was like, how do you go from so high to so low?” she said. “I felt fine. I felt completely normal. I competed (that) Friday and Saturday. Monday, I felt a lump on my neck.”
By Tuesday it had doubled in size – somewhere between a baseball and golf ball, Powell said. Her father, Robert Powell, an emergency medicine doctor at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital, had her checked out and tested, and an x-ray revealed their worst fears, and more: a fist-sized tumor in her chest, six masses in her neck, and a mass on her spine.
“It was just like, how does that happen? I got a CT scan. That showed it was cancer,” she said. “Fortunately I had Hodgkin’s. It’s the better of the two lymphomas for my age group to have.”
After a couple rounds of chemo, Powell’s cancer was in remission, and along the way she received a phone call from one of her idols, Jenn Suhr, the top American pole vaulter for the past 10 years and the defending Olympic champion at this year’s games. Powell said Suhr’s words of encouragement helped her through her fight.
“After that phone call, that switched my mentality to: ‘Okay, I’m getting through this,'” she said.
After setting a state high school pole-vaulting record of 13.3 feet, Powell competed for three years at Virginia Tech but struggled with what she described as a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I developed a mental block where I just could not take off the ground. I would run, feel like everything was great, and would just be scared. It was like I hit a brick wall,” she said.
She transferred to William & Mary, where she found her footing and ultimately achieved her then-personal best of 13.8 feet.
“It got me out of my comfort zone and helped me,” she said. “My mental block was broken.”
Powell said she was hoping to clear at least 14 feet this season to have a chance at the Olympics. Looking ahead to Tokyo, she said she’s aiming for 14.5 feet or higher, which she said is Olympic-level.
“I know I’m there,” she said. “I know I can jump it, and I know I have more left in me to go higher.”
Powell said she also knows she will make it to Tokyo four years from now. As she reaches new heights, she said her chances at sponsorships would increase as well.
Until then, she said the challenge will be not only clearing an ever-rising bar, but also clearing the hurdles of making a business out of sport.
“It’s tough. It’s a different lifestyle. But it’s worth it,” she said. “You’re following your dream.”
Editor’s note: If you, a coworker or someone you know around town have an exciting or unique pastime, drop us a line at [email protected].