LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska native Jeremy Scott is getting ready to compete for an Olympic medal in the pole vault this week.

Scott, who grew up in Norfolk, Neb., believes he has a shot at a medal in the competition that starts Wednesday.

Scott didn’t even start pole vaulting until he was 16.

The 31-year-old has spent nine years training with Bell Athletics in Jonesboro, Ark. That means he already knows several teammates because one of the other male pole vaulters and two women who are competing in the event also train with Earl Bell.

Scott says his training has helped him go from clearing 15-feet-2-inches in high school in 1999 to win the state tournament to clearing 19-feet-1¼-inches in a recent meet.