USD's Miles ready for London Olympics - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports

The opening ceremonies for the London Olympics are July 27th, and for the third time Derek Miles will be competing for the U.S. in the pole vault. The former University of South Dakota athlete and current assistant coach has come close to winning a medal in the past two Olympic games but is hoping the third time is the charm.

Miles, who will turn 40 in September, was seventh in the '04 games, and just missed a bronze in '08, finishing fourth. He's been ranked in the top ten in the U.S. for the past ten years, and in four of those years, he was the number-1 American.

The pole vault finals are still three weeks away in London, but Miles says he's ready to compete.

"I guarantee we're going to go 100 percent down the runway until I can't go 100 percent or it tears or whatever it's going to do," said Miles. "I understand that even though you have long career, the last meet is typically the one you remember the most so I'm going to bank on that. I know for sure when I walk away from that meet it will be everything I got."

The qualifying round for the pole vault is August 8th. The finals are on Friday, August 10th.

Norfolk, Nebraska, native Jeremy Scott is also a member of the U.S. pole vault team.