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sports
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
Hussain Al Hizam has competed around Europe and Asia, broken the Saudi National record for indoor pole vaulting, and aims to participate in the 2020 Olympics.
Sarah Wright/KANSAN
Hussain Al Hizam reaching new heights after injury
▶ SHAUN GOODWIN
@ShaunGoodwinUDK
Hussain Al Hizam's pole vaulting career nearly had a premature end.
A native of Jabail, Saudi Arabia, Al Hizam's pole vaulting career blossomed early. He broke pole vaulting world records left and right during his high school days, and won both the Arab junior title and Asian Junior Games in 2014.
Al Hizam had to start from scratch shortly after those competitions.
After returning home from the Youth Olympics in China in 2014, Al Hizam missed the pit completely and fell to the ground and suffered a spinal fracture.
Because of Al Hizam's
success, his name resonated throughout the Saudi Arabian community. Shortly after his injury, Saudi Arabian Prince Nawaf Al Saud, contacted Al Hizam about a doctor he knew in Los Angeles who could help him with his rehabilitation.
Al Hizam spent a year recovering and training in Los Angeles and began considering the possibility of competing at the collegiate level in America.
Al Hizam's childhood wasn't a typical one.
Having been a fierce competitor since the age of 8, he didn't grow up like his other classmates and friends in Saudi Arabia.
Track and field runs in the
family, as his father - Asim Al Hizam - is a former decathlete and a current decathon coach. There was never a doubt that Hussain would lead a life that revolved around sports and competition.
Al Hizam was a well-rounded athlete from a young age, participating in a plethora of sports, including soccer, volleyball and swimming, before finally following his father's footsteps and finding himself competing on the hard gravel surface of the racing track.
Al Hizam dominated the competition in several events in his youth, winning national titles in hurdling and the long jump. It wasn't until 2012 when Al Hizam decided to focus solely on pole vault, after he broke the world record for his age group. But, it wasn't just his dominance in the sport that influenced Al Hizam's decision to stick with pole vaulting.
"I found it to be something unique that not a lot of people can do," Al Hizam said. "Some people might get mad at me when I say 'everyone could run or long jump,' but not a lot of people can pole vault."
Hussain Al Hizam Pole vaulter
I found it to be something unique that not a lot of people can do."
After Al Hizam turned 11
years old, he began to travel around Europe, spending a lot of time traveling between Germany and Saudi Arabia to compete and practice. Before long, Al Hizam participated in some of the most competitive national meets for his age group. At 15, he won the Asian Youth Championships in China. A year later, Al Hizam returned to China to compete in the Youth Olympic Games.
When he finished fourth, he caught the attention of the Saudi Athletic Federation.
Al Hizam had only lived in and known one American city - Los Angeles - and naturally, his first instinct was to take a look at UCLA.
"I tried to get into UCLA
at first because I didn't know any other schools and it was a little hard for me to get in there because my English wasn't as good at that time," Al Hizam said.
With this in mind, he began to research different track and field programs around the nation, with a particular focus on pole vaulting.
"I guess that was the best research I've ever done in my life," Al Hizam said with a smile on his face.
Through this research, aided by UCLA jumps coach Anthony Curran, Al Hizam came into contact with Kansas vertical jumps coach Tom Hays.
SEE AL HIZAM PAGE 10
KU sits in middle of pack in decathlon, heptathlon
> SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@SkyRolSports
Junior Lucas Shaw races in the men's 400 meters as part of the decathalon at the Kansas Relays April 19.
Kicking off the first day of the 90th annual Kansas Relays, Kansas athletes lagged behind outstanding performances in the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon.
However, junior Lucas Shaw launched himself into better standing heading into the second day. Shaw battled strong wind on the back stretch to win his heat in the decathlon's 400-meter run.
"With it being as windy as it is, I felt like I ran a good race," Shaw said. "I used a lot of energy in that back stretch when the wind was really pushing us in the face. So it made that last home stretch really hard, but I felt overall it was a really good race."
Missy Minear/KANSAN
At the end of the first day, senior Dylan Poirier leads Kansas athletes at fourth in the men's decathlon, about 300 points behind Texas Tech's Erin Lopez. A trio of Kansas women lie in the middle of the pack in the women's heptathlon.
Sophomore Morgan Griffiths leads Kansas in the heptathlon at sixth place, with junior Talia Marquez closely behind in seventh. Junior Teri Huslig stands in 12th after the first day of the heptathlon. Griffiths finished second in both the shot-put and the 100-meter dash.
The women's heptathlon ended first on Wednesday, with Texas Tech's Kaylee Hinton leading the competition by a rather wide margin. Hinton won Wednesday's final event, the 200-meter, creating plenty of separation from the rest of the pack.
I felt overall it was a really good race."
Lucas Shaw Junior decathlete
Hinton heads into Thursday with 3,336 points, and in second stands Central Michigan's April Micheaux with 3,154 points.
Poirier has an opportunity to challenge for the decathlon title, but the competition looks to be between Tech's Lopez and Reinis Kregers, a former Kansas State athlete competing unattached.
Shaw, who sits in 14th place overall, looks ahead to a favorable Thursday.
"I'm a pole vaulter," Shaw said. "I was a pole vaulter in high school, so I'm really looking forward to the vault
tomorrow. I think I'm going to gain a lot of points there. Then, the 1,500 like I said is another strong event for me, so I'm looking forward to that."
The Kansas Relays will
continue at 9 a.m. today in Rock Chalk Park. Up next for the women's heptathlon lies the long jump, and for the men's decathlon, the 110-meter hurdles.
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