She proved a few weeks ago, though, that her mind never wandered too much during lectures on probabilities.

Bartolina, formerly Erica Boren, calculated her moves to perfection at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., to gain a berth in the Beijing Olympics, which begin Friday.

After clearing a personal best 14 feet, 7 inches, the 5-foot-5 Bartolina, 28, passed on her jumps at 14-9 and waited for a chance at 14-11.

"We figured a lot of competitors would jump between 14-7 and 14-11, and they did at 14-9," Bartolina said "I actually expected more [athletes] to clear that height, so not only am I watching them take themselves out of the competition, which gave me confidence, but I also know that I can jump higher than the mark they just cleared."

It didn't go exactly as Bartolina and her husband and coach, Mike, had planned. They felt it would require a 14-11 clearance on her first jump to advance, but it took until her third and final attempt to clear the height.

Still, playing the waiting game once she cleared 14-7 was a major factor in the 13th-ranked vaulter earning a spot on the team.

"I was a marketing major and I had a couple of statistics classes. It wasn't my favorite class." Bartolina said. "Statistics and likelihood helped out there, though, and knowing the competition as well."

Despite all the number-crunching, Bartolina, who trains at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La., had to have the meet of her life to make the medal stand and earn a trip to Beijing.

"That [14-7] was probably the least significant a personal best has felt in a long time, because I knew I could jump something better in competition, and my goal wasn't to just jump better, it was to make the Olympic team," Bartolina said. "It's hard for me to remember exactly [how I felt] at that time because there were so many emotions. I didn't approach it with desperation, and went into it feeling confident that I could make it, and the bar stayed up."

The fact that it was at Hayward Stadium made the accomplishment more satisfying. Bartolina grew up on a small farm near Philomath, Ore., about an hour drive from Eugene, and won a pole vault state title as a junior in high school at the stadium.

Bartolina also medaled at state the other three years of her high school career. Dennis Phillips was her coach then, and 10 years later he was once again in the stadium urging her on.

"Dennis and the whole family was a big part of my development, and I was excited having him there and being a part of it," Bartolina said. "My husband mentioned that Dennis had a hard time trying not to coach, so I knew he was really into it at the trials."

After Philomath High, Bartolina made her way to College Station, where she was the first female pole vaulter to receive a scholarship from A&M.

Bartolina cleared 10-11 1/2 in her first meet, and under the tutelage of Ed Marcinkiewicz she claimed a fifth place, a third place and two golds in Big 12 competition. Bartolina, a 2002 graduate, holds the school record at 13-3 3/4.

"A&M played a very big role in my development from solid college athlete to elite post-collegiate athlete," Bartolina said.

Bartolina returned to A&M after her college days as a volunteer coach while she trained for a couple of years. It was at A&M, though, where Bartolina had her biggest setback, spraining a hip joint and cracking a couple of bones in her back.

"I had a freak accident where my pole caught a bubble in the track on a practice run, and I basically pole vaulted without the pit or box," Bartolina said. "I think my breakthrough might have happened then [2005] at A&M if that hadn't happened."

It took a long time for her to recover fully, but in 2007 she made up for it with a grueling European schedule that, at times, included three meets a week.

Bartolina believes her breakthrough started back in 2007, and that making the U.S. Olympic team was a culmination of her hard work after recovering from her injury.

Bartolina will have to make another drastic improvement if she is to compete with the Europeans at the Olympics. The women's world record in the pole vault is 16-6 1/2, held by Russia's Yelena Isinbaeva, and it will likely take something over 15 feet to make the finals. It's not a mark she believes is unattainable.

"There is more out there. I was on the biggest pole I've ever jumped on at the trials and it was too small. I didn't have any more room to grip higher," Bartolina said. "So the biggest improvement I can make right off the bat is getting the right equipment."

After watching video of her personal records, she also believes there is room to improve technically. And then, of course, there is having the right strategy.

"Planning for the trials took a long time, so when we made the team we took a day or two off," Bartolina said. "It will take a few days of refocusing on new goals. It's hard to put a number on what I'd like to jump when I haven't jumped at this level, but I tend to do well in high-pressure situations."

NOTES -- Bartolina has had a prosthetic right eye since she was four months old after a car accident. Part of the reason Bartolina became a pole vaulter was because she had difficulty with depth perception in sports like softball and volleyball. ... Her husband Mike graduated from Central Oklahoma, and they met while he was a coach at McNeese State and she was at A&M. ... Bartolina finished 13th at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials.

• Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.