By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Kadyn Hysong became Arizona’s first 18-foot pole vaulter this summer, shattering a state record his father, Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong, had held for 27 years.
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Kadyn, 17, learned the sport in the family’s backyard from his father, Nick Hysong, who won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and was the first Arizona high school vaulter to clear 17 feet.
“It’s just so cool. I mean, you get to run down and just basically fly,” Kadyn said.
Father and son
Nick Hysong’s influence on his son extends back to Kadyn Hysong’s early childhood. Kadyn Hysong recalled a classroom visit from his father as a pivotal moment.
“He came into like my first grade classroom one time and did like a show and tell with the medal kind of,” Kadyn Hysong said. “That was like the first time I really realized that like, he did something cool, I guess, you know?”
Nick Hysong said his son has already surpassed a milestone he himself never reached.
“Everybody I’ve ever known has always wanted to jump their age. I never jumped my age,” Nick Hysong said. “He’s jumping a foot above his age.”
Record-setting jump
Kadyn’s 18-foot vault also tied the sophomore outdoor national record at Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon last month. Kadyn said the jump produced a rare, visible reaction.
“I usually don’t show that much like excitement in my jumps, but after jumping 18, I feel like even on camera it might not seem like the most, but it’s definitely been the most excited I’ve ever been,” Kadyn Hysong said.
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Three-sport athlete
In addition to pole vault, Kadyn Hysong competes in swimming and basketball. He won two state swimming titles last year. At the state track and field championships, he finished second in the pole vault and fifth in the 200.
Kadyn said competing across multiple sports helps him stay focused.
“It’s just kind of refreshing to not do the same thing over and over again,” he said. “I feel like it keeps my mind fresh and keeps me from burning out.”
Olympic ambitions
When asked if he dreams about the Olympics, Kadyn said, “I do. I really see it being a future for me.”
Nick Hysong, whose own world record stands a foot and four inches above his son’s current mark, said the next chapter is still unwritten.
“We’ll see,” Nick Hysong said. “He’s still got a foot and he’s got a foot and four inches to go.”
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