Champaign firm’s poles, javelins, discuses prominent at Beijing Olympics
CHAMPAIGN – When track and field athletes claim medals at the Beijing Olympics this week, there’s a good chance some of the equipment they used to achieve their feats came from Champaign.
Champaign-based Gill Athletics supplies many of the vaulting poles, javelins and discuses used in competition. Company President David Hodge can’t help but hope some of the exposure from the Olympics leads to increased sales.
“It’s a wonderful event, and we’ll be watching like everyone else,” said Hodge, a former vaulter who himself aspired to be an Olympian.
“In the pole vault, about three-quarters of the finalists will be using our poles, and a lot of the gold medal favorites will be using our poles as well,” Hodge said.
Javelins, discuses and the metal balls used in the shot put are furnished by the International Olympic Committee. But vaulting poles are so “personal” that the vaulters get to bring their own, Hodge said.
Vaulters Derek Miles and Jeff Hartwig of the United States are expected to use Pacer poles made by Gill, as are Steve Hooker from Australia and Igor Pavlov of Russia.
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A few other vaulters are expected to use Gill’s new Pacer Carbon FX pole (the Weave FX) that incorporates a woven carbon fiber. The woven carbon fiber is a strong, light and flexible material that until recently was used almost exclusively in aircraft.
That pole, which will become commercially available on Oct. 1, is likely to be used by Steve Lewis of the United Kingdom and Raphael Holzdeppe of Germany, said Jeff Watry, vice president of engineering for Gill Athletics.
Also using the new-material pole will be female vaulters Kate Dennison of the United Kingdom and Yuliya Golubchikova of Russia, Watry said.
Gill has also incorporated woven carbon fiber in some of its javelins. The gold medal favorite, Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, is expected to use that kind of javelin, as are several other top contenders.
“Depending on the wind and conditions, some (athletes) may pick different brands. It depends whether there’s a tail wind, cross wind or head wind,” Hodge said.
“You hope you’re the flavor of the day. But if it’s not a day with adverse conditions, we should have a good contingent on our javelins. If there are adverse conditions, the number (using our product) could increase or decrease.”
The Composite FX javelin is a combination of aluminum and woven carbon fiber. The combination produces a javelin that damps vibration faster but isn’t as stiff as a 100 percent carbon javelin, Watry said.
Gill products may also show up on Olympic basketball courts, but Hodge isn’t sure about that.
In 2006, Gill Athletics acquired Broadview-based Porter Athletic, and among Porter’s products are basketball goals.
Hodge said Gill has a relationship with a Chinese company, Chun He, that has told Gill that Porter basketball goals are used in the main stadium. But Hodge said at this point, “there’s no way to tell for sure.”
“We’ll be glued to the finals for sure … to try to confirm that what (supposedly) has happened indeed has happened,” he said of the goals.
Watry said he plans to watch many of the track and field events.
“Being a masters (division) guy who still dabbles in the decathlon, I’ll watch both pole vaults (male and female), and being a former high jumper, I definitely want to watch the high jump,” Watry said.
“I’m definitely a track junkie, so I’ll watch as much as they’ll televise.”
What to watch for at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Here’s how to recognize Gill equipment:
— Vaulting poles: Poles used by men carry the Carbon FX label; poles used by women carry the Carbon Mystic tag. If you can’t spot the label, look at the middle of the poles. Pacer poles have lines that go around the middle, making them look as though there’s a spring in the center.
— Javelins: Easy to recognize. They’re divided in half the long way, with one half painted pearl white and the other half metallic silver. When the javelin is thrown and there’s a bit of rotation, it looks like it’s changing color in the sky. Plus, it has a bright orange tail. Javelins are sold under the Oregon Track Equipment brand.
— Discuses: Hard to spot, unless you can see the face of the discus. Even then, it may be tough because the label is often under the thrower’s hands. Discuses are sold under the Gill, Pacer and Oregon Track Equipment brands.
Source: Jeff Watry, vice president of engineering, Gill Athletics
When to watch
Gill equipment may be used in finals at the Beijing Olympics on these days in China:
Monday – Women’s discus throw; women’s pole vault
Tuesday – Men’s discus throw
Thursday – Women’s javelin throw
Friday – Men’s pole vault; men’s decathlon
Saturday – Men’s javelin throw