A 'generational' talent: St. Christopher's pole vaulter Olesen ascending to heights unseen (2024)

As he prepared for a fateful pole vault that would set a new Virginia high school record and solidify his standing as one of the nation’s elite, St. Christopher’s sophom*ore Victor Olesen recited the final stanza of William Ernest Henley’s famous 1875 poem “Invictus” in his head.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

The master of his fate, indeed.

About 15 strides at breakneck speed ensued.

Then Olesen planted his pole, thrust himself skyward, cleared the bar in arching, acrobatic, majestic fashion, descended gracefully to the mat, roared as the crowd erupted, and walked over to hug his coach.

A Richmond native who molded the foundation of his skillset via a childhood love for gymnastics before transitioning to pole vault, Olesen set the Virginia state high school record with that leap of 17 feet, 7 inches at the Prep League meet on May 11 at St. Christopher’s track surrounding Knowles Field.

“During warmups that day, everything just kind of clicked,” Olesen said. “The competitive nature of the meet really helped.”

A ‘generational’ talent

The previous state record across all classifications of 17-6 was set in 1992 by legendary two-time state champion and eventual Olympic silver medalist Lawrence “LoJo“ Johnson of Great Bridge High (Chesapeake). The VHSL record book lists the public school state meet record at 17-0.5, set by Great Bridge’s Michael Morrison in 2006.

Locally, Atlee’s William Chapman hit 16-5 in 2018. This season, the top local mark after Olesen is 16-0, set by Hanover’s Todd Benhase on April 27.

So in terms of Virginia high school track and field lore, Olesen, who has now surpassed his own indoor and outdoor state marks, stands alone atop not only this season’s, but the all-time, hierarchy.

“That’s what this spring has been, just one record after another,” said Saints track and field coach Marshall Ware, who called Olesen a generational talent, the likes of which only comes along once in a century.

“Whether it’s on the track or in the classroom, he just works really hard. He’s the kind of kid who is thoughtful and modest, but goes for the kill. It’s been a lot of fun to work with him.”

That 17-7 mark, a PR for Olesen by 4 inches, is just 2 inches off the current national top mark of 17-9 set by Andover Central High (Kansas) senior Bryce Barkdull on May 9.

The all-time national high school record is 19-5.25, set by Lafayette High’s (Louisiana) Armand “Mondo” Duplantis on May 5, 2018, a 24-year-old Swedish-American pole vaulter and the current world record holder at 20-4.75, set in April.

In American history, only Duplantis has achieved a higher mark as a high school sophom*ore compared to Olesen’s.

‘He wants to go as high as he can’

For Olesen, who has made similar waves at national meets such as the Penn Relays and adidas Nationals, the dream is to wear the letters “USA” across his chest.

He’ll have a chance to achieve that aspiration soon when he competes in the national U20 trials this summer.

“Whether it’s world championships, Olympics ... That patriotism, I really want to be able to do that one day,” he said.

Olesen has also excelled in the hurdles. At the Prep League meet, he helped his Saints finished second with 109 points behind first-place Woodberry Forest’s 162.

At Saturday’s VISAA meet, Olesen surpassed his own meet record of 15-6 with a casual mark of 16-6, and placed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.02. His Saints (115 points) again placed second behind the Tigers (129.5).

When Olesen competes in other events to help his team, Ware tells him to take it easy in the pole vault — he’s usually feet ahead of his competitors, anyway.

But that’s simply not in Olesen’s DNA.

“He wants to go as high as he can every time,” Ware said with a chuckle, adding that St. Chris had to order new vaulting standards to accommodate Olesen’s flight.

“He’s a special kid. It’s unchartered territory for us. He’s good at everything he does, and he works to make sure that’s the case.

“There’s just no telling with that guy. I love him, he’s a great kid, super nice. And that’s the other part, he wants to do the right thing every time.”

‘A product of the community’

Olesen said, through gymnastics, he built the baseline of the physique, agility, body awareness, muscle memory and coordination that have enabled him to reach elite pole vaulting levels so early in his career.

But he got burnt out on gymnastics as a child, and in sixth grade made the switch to vaulter.

“Once I started to get into pole vaulting, I was like ‘This is what I want to do, I’m going to stick with this,’” he said.

“I really enjoy the plant aspect of the vault, which is where you actually leave the ground. It’s fun to me, being able to run as fast as you can, put all your energy into speed.

“Obviously, it’s a very complex movement. But if you’re fast, you can be a good pole vaulter.”

His chief mentor in that transition has been Val Osipenko, a local coach at Xtreme Heights Gymnastics in Goochland County. Osipenko was born in Ukraine and competed in Russia in his youth and young adulthood.

After a decadelong break from the sport, Osipenko returned to coaching at Atlee High in Mechanicsville before coaching a pair of all-ACC performers at UVa from 2001-04. He now works with athletes at the University of Richmond, though it would seem Olesen is his protege-in-chief.

“(Osipenko) has just taught me lessons about life in general, really just developed the person and the character that I am today,” Olesen said of his coach, affectionately referred to as “Big Val.”

“I have a lot to thank him for. He’s one of those guys that everyone really likes.”

Upon setting the state record, Olesen and Osipenko didn’t take much time to indulge in the achievement.

“It’s never enough,” a smiling Olesen said of his conversation with his coach. “I can always go higher. There’s always something to work on.”

Though Olesen’s exhaustive work ethic dates to his childhood gymnastics beginnings, he credited a supportive community — from his coach to his school, gym and equipment supplier UCS Spirit — with nurturing the development that has seen him ascend to heights unseen in Virginia track and field history.

The captain of his soul, indeed.

“I know I couldn’t have done it alone,” Olesen said. “I’m just eternally grateful to St. Chris and my family, Val and Extreme Heights, UCS Spirit.

“My success is just built on their contributions, their support.”