It seems fair to say that Melinda Owen is a small town girl, having grown up in Polson, Montana with a population of just over 4000 people.  In school Melinda participated in softball and also track and field where the rules “limited” her to competing in only seven events.  As early as her freshman year in high school, Melinda found and fell in love with the pole vault.

But the stage that Melinda stands on today as she prepares for the 2012 Olympics in the women’s pole vault is anything but small town.  At only 27 years old, Melinda has uprooted her herself and put her personal life on hold to train at the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.  Since 2009, Melinda has spent 9 months out of every year at the center, training anywhere from six to eight hours daily....

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