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PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Pole vaulter Jared Farabee doesn't wear a helmet,
even though he fell at the Penn Relays two years ago and wound up
with a minor concussion.
Indeed, the University of South Carolina junior never even considered
protecting his head.
"The helmet you'd have to wear would be like a motorcycle helmet,"
he said. "If you wear a little plastic shell, that's not going to
do anything."
Despite three pole vaulting deaths in the United States this year,
and some efforts to encourage athletes to wear helmets, a vast majority
opt not to. At this week's Penn Relays, only about half a dozen of
the nearly 100 high school and college pole vaulters wore helmets.
"A helmet's not going to do anything when you're falling from 15 feet,
" said Gavin Mohrmann, a junior at St. Anthony's High School in New
York City.
Penn State sophomore Kevin Dare and high schoolers Samoa Fili and
Jesus Quesada died in pole vaulting accidents this year.
There were 15 fatal pole vaulting accidents in U.S. high schools from
1983-00, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury
Research. College deaths are rarer because equipment and training
are usually better.
Proponents of helmet use say their use increases safety. Others argue
that helmets can't prevent neck injuries and that they might create
a false sense of security.
Dare's father, Ed, launched a pro-helmet campaign soon after Kevin
died during the Big Ten indoor championships in February.
Idaho State track coach Dave Nielson recently started requiring that
his pole vaulters use helmets.
Temple sophomore Kevin Kelly said he is trying a helmet for the first
time at the Penn Relays.
"I figured I'd just give it a try," he said. "Now that it's on, I
don't even notice it's on."
Kevin Dunn, a senior at Towanda High School in Pennsylvania, said
his school began requiring them this season.
"My school wanted us to. We don't have the best complex," he said.
Dunn added that he didn't notice the helmet much, but he'd prefer
not to wear one.
Farabee, who competed against Dare in high school, said that better
training for coaches would help avoid mishaps.
"I'm more for educating coaches," he said. "There's not a lot of professional
guys that are injured because they're doing it the right way."
Image Caption: Rutgers pole vaulter Jelmour Maddux grits his teeth
as he vaults during the college men's eastern pole vault at the Penn
Relays in Philadelphia, Friday, April 26, 2002. (AP Photo/Douglas
M. Bovitt)
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