Olhovsky vaults large obstacles to get to Virginia Tech

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http://www.hokiesports.com/rothreport/r ... 25aaa.html

Israeli athlete vaults large obstacles to get to Tech, but has sights set on ACCs, NCAAs and beyond
The Roth Report
February 25, 2009

By Bill Roth
“I am a like a bull, focused on chasing that red cape,” Yavgeniy Olhovsky says with a little smirk, followed by a squint and then a confident nod.

“Yes, that’s it!” he says, excited that he’s finally found the metaphor that aptly describes his approach. “I am the bull, totally focused on one thing.”

For Olhovsky, his single focus is clearing a bar that sits over 18 feet in the air.

Olhovsky, or “Jenna,” as he is called by his teammates, is one of the most successful athletes at Virginia Tech today, competing in the pole vault for the Hokies’ track and field team.

Two weeks ago, the junior set the all-time Virginia Tech record, clearing 18 feet, 2.5 inches. That performance automatically qualified Olhovsky for the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, next month where he’ll have a legitimate shot to win a national championship for the Hokies.

While that’s a remarkable story in itself, you should consider this. If he weren’t wearing a Virginia Tech track uniform, he’d be wearing an Israeli Army uniform.

Olhovsky was born in the Ukraine, but his family moved to Israel in 1992.

“It was hard to be Jewish in the Ukraine,” he said.

So in 1992, Olhovsky, his parents, and twin sister, Yana, moved to Israel.

In the early 1990s, nearly one million Soviet Jews immigrated to Israel, including Olhovsky, his sister and his parents. The Soviet Union was collapsing, its citizens faced economic, political, and social chaos, and for Jews, anti-Semitism was rampant. Many fled for Israel.

“We just packed and left,” Olhovsky said. “We had to start over completely. My mom was a teacher and my dad was an engineer, but when the USSR broke up, we just got out.”

Eight-year-old Yavgeniy didn’t bring much. “I was allowed to bring my bike,” he said. “That was it.” His mother went back to school at Hebrew University and his father starting selling leather goods.

“It was a new country. A new start,” he said. “And I was one of the better athletes in school.”

Olhovsky enjoyed the track events and experienced success in the long jump and the sprint events but, “when I was 14 or 15, one of my coaches in school suggested I try the pole vault.” Success soon followed and Olhovsky quickly learned he had a knack for the sport.

Clearly, he had a future in the pole vault, but like all Israeli citizens, he had a three-year commitment to the Israeli Army upon graduation from high school.

“It was hard, believe me. The Israeli Army is hard. Boot camp is rough. Cleaning barracks, guarding the camp,” Yavgeniy said.

But since he excelled in the pole vault, Olhovsky was granted special status in the Israeli Army: athlete.

“I was able to practice every day, and I did have some days off, but it was a rough three years,” he said. “You lose all your freedom. For three years, they have you. I was in Ramala, in the West Bank. Same thing every day. Guard, sleep. Guard, sleep. It’s almost like jail for three years.”

After his three-year commitment to the Israeli Army, Olhovsky had the grades and athletic skills to be recruited by major American universities. He picked Virginia Tech over Idaho, Memphis, Washington and Arkansas, among others. Former Tech assistant coach Lawrence Johnson had a contact in Illinois who knew Olhovsky. That friendship opened the door to Olhovsky becoming a Hokie.

“I did some research on line and picked Virginia Tech. It was a school with a good track program and one that had a good tradition in the pole vault,” Olhovsky said.

And since he is enrolled at Virginia Tech, Olhovsky is currently excused from his military responsibilities as a member of the Israeli Army reserves. While he was home in Petah Tikva, Israel, in December, the reserves were called to active duty.

“A friend of mine from high school was killed in the operation in Gaza in December,” he said. “It’s shocking. If I wasn’t an athlete here, I’d be one of those guys in Gaza. That could’ve been me.

“It’s good and bad. It’s good that I’m here studying and safe, but at the same time, I know I should be with my friends. I should be there with them.”

Olhovsky’s background is obviously different that most Tech student-athletes. At 25, he’s older than most. He’s lived in three countries and is fluent in Russian, Hebrew and English. Plus, three years of duty in the Israeli Army will change anyone’s perspective on life.

“My teammates are great,” Olhovsky said. “They are so supportive. They follow the news and they ask questions about Israel. And I’ve had discussions here with Iranian and Palestinian and Syrian students.”

Sometimes, Yavgeniy admits, those are “uncomfortable” conversations.

“In Israel, I didn’t even feel Jewish because everyone else is,” he said. “Here, I feel more related to my religion and closer to my country.”

He misses his family and says he visits twice each year. He keeps in touch with them, and his girlfriend, Ania, through Skype and hopes they’ll all visit Blacksburg for his graduation.

It’s not the typical college experience for a student-athlete. But his skills in the pole vault have opened so many new doors.

“Clearly, it would be great to win the ACC championship and the NCAA championship next month in Texas,” Olhovsky said.

Olhovsky’s ultimate goal, however, is to compete for Israel in the 2012 Olympics and someday clear the 19-foot mark. His Virginia Tech school record of 18 feet, 2.5 inches is the best of any Israeli this year.

“If the Olympics were this summer, I’d qualify, but I’ll have to wait until 2012,” he said with a laugh.

There are no Olympics this summer, but the World Championships will be held in Berlin and there’s a very good chance Olhovsky will be there.

Olhovsky’s hero is Alex Averbukh, a Russian decathlon champion from Siberia who also immigrated to Israel and won the gold medal in the men's pole vault at the European Championships in 2002. It marked the first time in the competition’s history that an Israeli athlete ever won a gold. Ironically, those championships were held in Munich.

But before Olhovsky can think about the competition in Berlin this August, or the NCAAs in Texas next month, there’s this week’s ACC Championships in Blacksburg. Olhovsky finished second in the ACC last year but has high hopes to take the title at Rector Field House this week.

Some of the best athletes from the USA – and the world – will be on Tech’s campus competing in the three-day event and Olhovsky is certainly one of the best in his sport.

And if you go, you’ll be able to spot the Hokies’ amazing pole vaulter from Israel.

He’ll be the guy in the VT uniform racing down the runway, with the focus of a bull.

[hallvaulter]

jenia is one of the most focused competitors i know...great guy too...congrats to my fellow hokie!