Wesleyan’s King cashed her one Olympic shot

Brynn King was a heavy underdog at the Team USA women’s pole vault Olympic trials.

And she knew it.

The Wesleyan grad student is coached by Churchville native Jenn Suhr and her husband Rick. Jenn is a gold medalist, but Rick is the one with the gold level strategy. His plan for King was to have her continually pass on attempting heights until there was an opportunity.

Every time three competitors cleared a height, King passed because all she could do was match. She waited for an opening. When Sandi Morris missed at 4.73 meters, the green light went on for Team King.

“This is my opportunity to come in for the steal. You have one shot,” King said. “If I can make it on the first attempt, I can really put the pressure on her. That’s a hard place to be. On the back of the runway, I was like, ‘You have one shot to make your dreams come true. Execute what you know how to do’. I came down and I did that.”

Morris missed the same bar on her next two attempts and that left King among the only three to clear the height (15 feet, 6.25 inches). It’s an incredible achievement for a vaulter who had never reached 14 feet during four years at Division I Duke.

King’s personal best has improved 19 inches in less than 12 months under the Suhr’s at Division II Roberts Wesleyan. She watched her Olympic dreams come true with the Suhr’s sitting right behind.

“Rick grabbed me and was like, ‘You did it! You made the team!’ And it was like immediate tears. I couldn’t control it,” King said with a laugh. “I was kinda still in disbelief.”

King said she thought clearing 4.73 simply got her back into competition for the Olympic team. Her expectation was certainly more competition, but it never came.

“The fact that, at that moment, I had made the team, it didn’t feel real,” King said.

She’ll be returning to Rochester to continue training at Wesleyan for the next couple weeks before making the first trip of her lifetime to Paris. King is most looking forward to experiencing all the traditions associated with being an Olympic athlete. Even being fitted for her opening and closing ceremony outfits and getting pictures in a Team USA uniform were awe inspiring experiences.

“I couldn’t believe it was mine,” she said.

Though her literal rise to an Olympic level athlete has been extraordinary, King admitted it’s something she and Suhr’s believed was possible the closer they got to the Olympic trials. The best part of her success is the confidence gained that she can execute on the biggest of stages.

Jenn and Rick have a lot to do with that.

“They are some of the best coaches in the world,” King said. “Not just from technique, but also the mental aspect and also game day strategy. I can’t jump a ton, so it didn’t make sense for me to keep making attempts. Coaching from every aspect, they just have it down to a T. They know that sport inside out.”

Enough to take a big underdog all the way to the top of her game.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst.