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[[image man at microphone]]

[[image - Billy Olson receives the Tanqueray Award]]

POLE VAULTER BILLY OLSON IS 1984 TANQUERAY WINNER

Billy Olson of Abilene, Tex., the first person ever to surpass 19 feet indoors and a world class pole vaulter long before he considered competing in the Olympics, in the 1984 winner of the Tanqueray Award for achievement in amateur sport.

The 25-year-old Abilene Christian graduate reached a vaulting height never before established on the North American continent when he made it to 19 feet, 1/4 inch at Toronto on Feb. 2, 1983.

That performance along with Olson's confident expectation that he can go considerably higher under the right conditions, was the basis for his selection for the annual award that in recent years has gone to such standards as runner Mary Decker, basketball star Ralph Sampson, All-America football player Herschel Walker, and baseball achiever Darryl Strawberry.

"There is a limit up there and if I stay healthy I can go a good bit higher," said Olson. "I am not anywhere close to that limit yet. I am mainly an outdoor jumper. Some time -- and I can't say when -- I think I can go anywhere from 19-4 to 19-8 with good conditions.

Injuries, including a severe ankle sprain that retarded him in early outdoor competition this year, have delayed Olson's assault on the marks that he feels he will make and says he will never give in until that happens.

"It took me two years to make the 19 plus mark," he said. "I will keep at it that long -- or longer if I have to, but I know when the right time comes I will get up there."

John E. Heilman, President of Somerset Importers, Ltd., sponsors of the award that has been made annually since 1968, commended Olson's optimism and noted that the presentation comes "not for what you may yet do as a pole vaulters, but for the records you have already established.

[[image - Billy Olson and five other men at the presentation of the Tanqueray Achievement Award]]

Transcription Notes:
[[image: photo of a man in suit & tie, speaking into a microphone]] [[image: photo of Billy Olson being given the Tanqueray Award]] [[image: photo of Billy Olson and five other men at the presentation of the Tanqueray Achievement Award]]