She’s a Pole Vaulter， and She’s Blind
For three years， Charlotte Brown has been chasing a medal. She has been trying to jump over a bar[长棍] she couldn’t see.
The senior pole vaulter[撑杆跳高运动员] finally cleared that bar. She earned a third-place finish at the Texas state high school championships[锦标赛]. And joining her on the podium[指挥台] was her guide dog， Vador.
Brown is blind. Yet that’s not stopped her quest to become one of the best in an event that would seem so difficult.
“I finally did it，” Brown said. “If I could send a message to anybody， it’s not about pole vaulting and it’s not about track. It’s about finding something that makes you happy despite whatever obstacles[障碍] are in your way.”
Brown had qualified[使具有资格] for the state meet[比赛会] each year since 2013. She attends Emory Rains High School. She finished eighth as a sophomore and improved to fourth as a junior.
At her hotel room before the finals， Stori Brown tried to give her daughter some helpful advice. Her mom wanted her to know that it was important to remember that she was one of the few to make it this far. And that was whether she won a medal or not.
“No，” Charlotte replied. “I need to be on that podium.”
Brown was born with normal vision. She developed cataracts[白内障] when she was 16 weeks old. That led to the first of several operations. Her vision was alright until she was about 11. Then it started to worsen.
By 2013， she still had a small window of sight. But she couldn’t see color or tell shapes from shadows. Brown is now blind. While not faced with total darkness， her mother described what remains as a “jigsaw puzzle[七巧板]” of mixed up shades of light and dark.
Despite her disability[残疾]， Brown takes pride in her fierce[强烈的] spirit of independence[独立]. It comes from growing up in a family with two older brothers. They pushed her to help herself in the rural[乡下的] town of Emory.
Run down a track and hurtle[猛冲] herself more than 11 feet into the air？ No problem.
Brown first took up pole vaulting in seventh grade. Why？ She wanted to do something a little “dangerous and exciting.”She counts the seven steps of her left foot on her approach[靠近]. She listens for the sound of a beeper[发出哔哔声的仪器] placed on the mat. That tells her when to plant the pole and push up. At the state meet， Vador walked her to the warmup area.
Brown missed her first attempts[尝试] at 10-0 feet and 10-6. She cleared them both on her second try. She cleared 11-0 on her first attempt. Then she made it over 11-6. She guaranteed[保证] herself a medal when two other vaulters couldn’t reach that height， leaving Brown among the last three in the field.
She made three attempts at 11-9 but missed each one. She briefly dropped her shoulders and shook her head after her final attempt. Then she got to her feet to thank the crowd for their ovation[欢呼]. It came from several hundred fans she could hear but not see.
“She came to win，” said her father， Ian Brown.“As parents， we are thrilled[极为激动的] she got on the podium.”
“I don’t know how many people could do that，”Sydney King， who won gold at a height of 12-3， said.“Her story， she’s what keeps me going when things aren’t going right for me.”
Brown is headed to Purdue University on an academic[学术的] scholarship[奖学金]. She plans to walk on in track.
“It took me three years to get on the podium. And I finally did it，” Brown said. “This story...really wasn’t about me. It was about everybody that struggles with something.”
三年来，夏洛特・布朗都在追求一块奖牌。她一直试图跳过一根她看不见的竿。
这位高四撑杆跳运动员终于战胜了那根横竿。她在（美国）德克萨斯州高中锦标赛中获得了第三名。和她一同站到领奖台的还有她的导盲犬维达。
布朗是一名盲人。尽管这项运动对盲人而言似乎难于登天，然而这阻止不了她想成为个中翘楚的决心。
“我终于做到了。”布朗说。“如果我能向所有人传达一条信息，那它绝对不是关于撑杆跳或田径，而是关于哪怕障碍重重，也要找到让你快乐的东西。”
自2013年以来，布朗每一年都成功跻身州比赛。她就读于埃默里雷恩斯高中。高二的时候她拿到第八名，到高三时就上升到第四了。
总决赛前夕，斯托里・布朗在酒店房间里希望为女儿提供一些有用的建议。她的妈妈希望她明白，能走到这一步的人屈指可数，她就是其中一个，记住这点很重要。能不能拿到奖牌并不能改变这个事实。
“不。”夏洛特回答道。“我要走上那个领奖台。”
布朗出生时视力正常，16周的时候才出现白内障。她随后接受了几次手术。一直到11岁左右，她的视力还算可以，但此后就开始恶化。
到了2013年，她还有零星视力，但无法看见颜色或辨认阴影。布朗现在已经看不见东西了。她的母亲形容说，尽管夏洛特面对的不是完全黑暗，但她看到的是明暗混杂、“七巧板”那样的图像。
尽管身患残疾，布朗强烈的独立性格让她引以为傲。这种精神得益于其成长环境―她有两个哥哥，是他们促使她在埃默里这个乡村自力更生的。
跑过一段跑道，然后纵身一跃跳过11英尺（3.35米）？没有问题。
布朗读7年级的时候开始玩撑杆跳。为什么玩撑杆跳？因为她想做些有点“危险刺激”的事。跑向横竿时，她会数着左脚跑了七步；她还会听摆在（横竿处）垫子上的一个发声仪的声音，那个仪器会告诉她什么时候插竿、起跳。
在州比赛中，维达带着她走到热身区。
在10英尺（3.05米）和10英尺6英寸（3.2米）这两个高度，布朗的第一跳均没有成功，都是在第二跳通过的。11英尺（3.35米）这个高度她第一跳就成功了；然后她又跳过了11英尺6英寸（3.5米）。当另外两名选手没能跳过这个高度时，布朗肯定能拿到奖牌，因为赛场上只剩下三名选手了。
她在11英尺9英寸（3.58米）这个高度试跳了三次，但都没有成功。最后一跳之后，她垂下肩膀，摇了摇头，然后站起身来，感谢观众的欢呼。这些欢呼声来自数百名她能听见但看不见的粉丝。
“她来就是为了赢。”她的父亲伊恩・布朗说。“作为父母，她能走到领奖台上，我们非常激动。”
“我不知道有多少人能做到。”以12英尺3英寸（3.72米）的成绩赢得金牌的悉尼・金说。“她的故事……当我遇到任何不顺时，她就是我坚持下去的动力。”
拿到学业奖学金的布朗即将进入普渡大学学习，她打算继续她的田径事业。
“我花了三年时间才走上领奖台。我最终做到了。”布朗说。“这个故事……讲的其实不是我，而是和困难奋战的每一个人。”
Rnow More
在美国，高中一般有四年，各年级学生的称呼如下：
9th Grade student =Freshman
10th Grade student =Sophomore
11th Grade student =Junior
12th Grade student =Senior
