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Guest Speaker:
Charles Polhamus
To many baby-boomers growing up in Winchester in the 1950s and 1960s, Charlie Polhamus’s name was very familiar. In those days, if you were interested in inter-scholastic sports, you were speaking of Boys’ Sports. Girls’ Sports were strictly “Club” sports, within each school, not between schools. And, interscholastic Boys’ Sports were limited to the Big Three sports: football, basketball, and track & field. John Handley High School had always been a power house in all three sports, usually competing against large high schools in the old Cumberland Valley Athletic League, along with Harrisonburg; and, of course, the most bitter of rivals: Martinsburg! The year’s two biggest athletic events were the Handley/Martinsburg Football Game on Thanksgiving Day; and, the Annual Handley Invitational Track Meet held just before Apple Blossom each year. In that world and before that audience, Charlie Polhamus was a star!
Charlie Polhamus was born in Winchester in 1943 and attended the aforementioned John Handley High School. In 1961, he was the Virginia State Pole Vault Champion back in the days when schools were not separated by size. After high school, he served in the U. S. Marine Corps and is a Vietnam Veteran. As he inevitably aged, Charlie always stayed in shape and never lost his desire to participate in athletic competitions. As other pole-vaulters lost their skills, Charlie did not; and, in Masters’ and Seniors’ competitions, he has excelled at an almost unheard of level. Some career highlights:
- Two-time World Master Champion: 1983 San Juan and 1985 Rome
- Eight Indoor and Outdoor Masters’ World Records
- 25-time US Masters’ National Champion
- 10-year NIKE product endorsement athlete
- Ranked #1 in the world from 1977-1987 in Masters’ Pole Vault
- USA Track & Field Certified Official
- Georgia High School Certified Coach
- Pole Vault Coach for Fitzgerald High School State Champions: 1987,1988,1989,1990
- Most memorable sporting experience: Competing against 135 vaulters from 34 countries at the Masters’ World Championships in the Olympic Stadium in Rome in 1985; and, not only capturing the Gold Medal; but, shattering the then World Record twice in the process!
- In a recent update, Charlie informed us: “I vaulted indoors at Clemson University this year and [clearing] that height makes the 37th year in a row that I have attained All American status!” [Note: Charlie was 68 years old when he accomplished this feat.]
Charlie Polhamus is married to the former Debbie Kennedy; and, they live in Fitzgerald, Georgia. They have three children: Toby (41), Marcee (30), and Annie (24); and, four grandchildren. Festival Organizers are still working out the details of Charlie’s schedule. He may be arriving in town as early as Festival Thursday; and, hopefully, will be attending a full schedule of Festival events on Festival Friday and Saturday. He will, of course, be a Featured Speaker at the Wells-Fargo Sports Breakfast on Saturday morning, May 5th, 2012, at 8:00am at the Winchester Moose Lodge in Old Town. Welcome back to Winchester, Charlie!
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