Weeks enjoys time in Olympic competition

United States pole vaulter Lexi Weeks, right, poses for a photo with her twin sister, Tori, during the 2016 Summer Olympics women’s pole-vault finals Aug. 19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Lexi Weeks, of Cabot, participated in the preliminary round of the event, clearing two heights but did not advance to the finals.
United States pole vaulter Lexi Weeks, right, poses for a photo with her twin sister, Tori, during the 2016 Summer Olympics women’s pole-vault finals Aug. 19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Lexi Weeks, of Cabot, participated in the preliminary round of the event, clearing two heights but did not advance to the finals.

— Lexi Weeks of Cabot may not have won a medal or qualified for the finals of the women’s pole vault at the Summer Olympics in Brazil, but she’s still proud of her accomplishments this summer.

Weeks, 19, was the third qualifier from the United States in the pole vault. She is the reigning NCAA indoor and outdoor champion for the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She finished behind Jenn Suhr and Sandi Morris in the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Weeks qualified for the Olympics with a pole-vault height of 15 feet, 5 inches.

“I had no idea that I’d be going to Rio, especially coming out of high school a year before the Olympic trials, and I had only jumped 14 feet, 7 inches, and that would not have even put me in the trials,” Weeks said. “Over the last year, I’ve improved so much. I had no idea that I would make the team. The excitement of getting to represent Team USA in Rio — it was extraordinary. Not very many people get that opportunity. It is something I will never take for granted. It was a tough road getting there. It was a tough competition. It was amazing.”

During the preliminary round, which was held Aug. 16, Weeks cleared her first two heights of 14 feet, 1 inch and 14 feet, 7 inches. She missed three times at 14 feet, 11 inches.

The Olympics was the first meet that Weeks had ever competed in outside of the United States.

“Sandi [Morris] has been on the circuit for two years,” Weeks said. “Almost every meet she goes to, she competes with these professional women. For me, it was the first time I had seen pretty much any of them, except for the two USA girls.

“It’s not like competing at collegiate meets where you’ll have a few girls who will go 14 feet. Every girl there has already jumped 14-9. It was kind of intimidating, I must say. It was a whole different world, having girls jump 15 feet easily. It’s a whole different ballgame.”

Weeks said she thought if she had had some previous international experience, she might have fared better.

“It would have been a little bit different,” she said. “I was dropped into a new setting. Mentally, it may have gotten me off my game. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘I’m not the top dog.’

“It was definitely a learning experience. Being in college, I haven’t had the chance to have the overseas experience yet. So that was maybe a little bit of a setback on my part. It was so new to me to be jumping at that level.”

Weeks was so proud to have represented the Cabot community as well.

“During the competition, I knew the whole town of Cabot was watching me,” she said. “Here I am, representing them and the whole United States. … That is a surreal feeling — knowing that. I was one of three who got to represent Team USA.

“It is something I’ll never take for granted. Even if I never make another Olympics, no one can ever take away the fact that I’m an Olympian and got to be part of Team USA. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to do as well at the trials to put me there.”

Weeks said she was mainly training up until the time she competed in the preliminary round.

“Sandi and I watched the beach volleyball,” she said. “That was the only event we got to go see. That was really cool.”

Once Weeks was eliminated from the preliminary round, she stayed in the hotel with her twin sister, Tori, who is also a pole vaulter at the University of Arkansas, and their parents, Brent and Amy Weeks.

“We got to do all the touristy things,” Lexi Weeks said. “We went up to Christ the Redeemer. That was amazing. It gave you a whole view of Rio [de Janeiro]. That was a neat experience. We did Sugarloaf Mountain. And we went to a Brazilian steakhouse.”

During her time leading up to the competition, Weeks spent a lot of time with Morris, who also pole vaulted at the University of Arkansas. Morris won the silver medal in the Olympics.

“I couldn’t have done this without Sandi,” Weeks said. “We’ve been training together for about a year now. We became friends, but we weren’t super close. But since after Nationals, it was just her and me training together for a month until we left for Rio. Then we were in Rio for two weeks training. We grew really close with each other. There is no way that I could have done it without her. It made it so much easier to have her there.”

On her Facebook page, Morris was complimentary of Weeks.

“You may be in college, but girl, you’re a pro,” Morris wrote. “You have so much life and energy, and I don’t know what I would have done without you here in Rio with me. We have developed a friendship that I am sure will hold strong for many years to come. Thank you for being such an amazing friend, teammate and competitor.”

Weeks was proud of Morris’ silver medal.

“I knew she was one of the favorites to get a medal,” Weeks said. “It was awesome to get to see it in person and see how well she performed and see how she carries herself through success. I was real proud of her.”

One of the highlights for Weeks was participating in the Olympics opening ceremony, which took place Aug. 5.

“I walked out with 500 athletes who were there to represent the United States,” she said. “It was a surreal moment that I am going to remember for the rest of my life.”

Weeks arrived back in Fayetteville on Aug. 21 and started fall classes the next day.

“That was not the most fun thing I’ve ever done,” said Weeks, who is a chemistry major. “I had to get ready for school, I guess. That’s life. I just started practicing again, getting back into it. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but that’s how it is.”

Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.

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