Don't count out The Chick with The Stick

Reigning Olympic women's pole vault champion Stacy Dragila may, at 33, be the oldest competitor for her event but the American isn't ready to draw her pension yet.

Reigning Olympic women's pole vault champion Stacy Dragila may, at 33, be the oldest competitor among the 38 entries for her event but the American isn't ready to draw her pension yet.

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"The younger girls haven't been in this situation before. I'm the older and wiser one," joked Dragila at a press conference here Thursday.

"I can remember what I did in 2000 and I can do it here. I can see myself on the podium. It's been a challenging, but fun, four years," added Dragila.

The women's pole vault made its debut in Sydney and Dragila - the self-styled Chick with The Stick who was largely responsible for the event's popularity - went into the record books as the first gold medalist.

However, since Dragila's last major gold medal at the 2001 World Championships, she has been knocked off her perch as the top women's pole vaulter by the Russian pair of of Svetlana Feofanova and Yelena Isinbayeva.

This year Feofanova and Isinabayeva have improved the world record six times between them, with Isinbayeva clearing 4.90 metres in London last month to set the current standard.

However, Dragila herself has returned to form after spending much of 2002 and 2003 in the doldrums, clearing 4.83 metres earlier in the summer, a mark which was briefly the best ever recorded outdoors.

"They say that indoor marks are just the same as outdoors as far as world records but I disagree," said Dragila, clearly bitter that she was never accorded the formal recognition of having set an official world record.

Dragila attributes her return to form to a coaching and location change she made 18 months ago.

She is now guided by Greg Hull, who advises Sydney Olympics men's pole vault champion Nick Hysong.

"To make a coaching change so late in a career would be devastating for many athletes but for me it was a re-charging of the batteries," said Dragila.

The women's pole vault usually attend a raucious crowd following but there is likely to be little chit-chat among the leading contenders.

There is a cold war between Dragila and the Russians, and Isinbayeva and Feofanova are well known to be barely on speaking terms.

Dragila thinks that going into the competition with the spotlight on Feofanova and Isinbayeva will act in her favour.

"In 1999, at the World Championships, I was the dark horse and pulled it off. Of course there have been a lot of changes since then, but I've got my game plan."

Qualifying for the event takes place on Saturday with the final on Tuesday.