Olympic quest ends for Jefferson City native

Vera Neuenswander Schmitz prepares for her jump. (Courtesy of Megan Cody)
Vera Neuenswander Schmitz prepares for her jump. (Courtesy of Megan Cody)

Vera Neuenswander Schmitz ended her quest to make the Olympic team at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials last Friday.

Only a few weeks ago, the three-time All American pole vaulter from Jefferson City had jumped her personal best of 14.9, which was the Olympic standard needed to participate in the qualifying round of the trials.

That accomplishment came during a meet in Louisville, Kentucky, but Schmitz returned to her home in Bloomington, Indiana, with an ankle sprain that put a quick end to her training efforts leading up to the qualifying trials in Eugene, Oregon.

"I had not run or jumped for the two weeks leading up to the event in Eugene, and it felt like running down the runway with a club foot," said Schmitz, who required an injection to numb her ankle prior to the vault.

"If it hadn't been the Olympic trials, I would not have jumped at all and would have spent more weeks rehabbing the injury, but I went for it," she said. "To have that opportunity to stand on the runway with 20,000 people clapping in support of me clearing that bar was really amazing and emotional. That I did clear the bar was miraculous."

Waiting for her flight in Portland on Monday, Schmitz said she felt all kinds of emotions knowing she is officially retired. She and her husband, Matt, are planning to start a family.

"It feels like 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.' I was happy, sad, all of it, but I was also proud of myself and it was probably the gutsiest thing I've done," she said. "I learned that God's victory looks different than you expect. My dream was to be an Olympian, but I still feel victorious."

Schmitz's parents, Joe and Joyce Neuenswander, were in Eugene watching the trials, along with two filmmakers making a documentary about her journey to the trials.

"I couldn't have done any of this without the folks back in Jefferson City and my parents and family," she said.