Good athletes and good sports

Sports Columnist

June 30, 2008 6:08 PM PT

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EUGENE, Ore. -- It was a nice scene during the decathlon pole vault competition.

Tom Pappas, an Oregon native who attended Lane Community College here, was the only vaulter left at 17 feet, 4 1/2 inches. After he missed his first two attempts, the crowd intensified its already enthusiastic and rhythmic clapping -- and so did one of his rivals, Ashton Eaton, who had been jumping in the other flight.

That’s commendable sportsmanship from Eaton, a sophomore at the University of Oregon. He cleared a personal-best 16-8 3/4.

-- Helene Elliott

Olympics Blog

Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.