Irish high jumper’s dangerous throwback to training in the hayshed is just pure class

Talk about making do with what you have.

The high jump is one of the most difficult athletic disciplines to prepare for. The majority of high jumpers have to travel long distances to the local running track in order to practice their jump. A young Michael Bowler, who will be representing his country at the European Combined Events Cup in July in Monzon in Spain, was sick of travelling all the way to the local track in order to perfect his jumping technique. The Enniscorthy man, obviously a farmer, made do with the resources available to him on the farm to develop his very own home-made high jump set up. Bowler, 24, made the high jump mat out of two bags of hay and a mattress, and this was in turn supported by two bales of hay, as you do. His steel bar is supported by two wooden stanchions. Brilliant stuff from the Enniscorthy man. That's a fine Fosbury Flop technique there as well, it must be said. His post on Facebook was accompanied with the following message.

"Athletics Ireland just announced that in twelve days time I’ll be stepping onto the track to represent Ireland at the European team championships in Monzon, Spain. The young chap in this video could only dream of wearing the Irish crest some day. This will be my third senior international cap and I can safely say that no matter what happens I’ll be proud of how far I’ve come. No more jumping solid metal bars!"

Hopefully, all of his hard work on the farm will reap dividends. High jumpers of Ireland, take note.