Olympian Plab raised the bar for metro-east athletes

It all started so innocently for Darrin Plab.

He grew up in Mascoutah, the son of Terry Plab, who signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1954. Young Darrin also loved baseball and played in Mascoutah’s youth leagues.

Darrin didn’t have his father’s baseball ability, but he was every bit the athlete his father was. During his sophomore year at Mascoutah High School, he discovered he could jump.

Oh, how Plab could jump.

“My dad was a huge baseball fan and a very good player and I played little league and continued to play baseball while growing up. I had played most of my life and when I was old enough I went out for the Mascoutah High School baseball team,” Plab said. “But things just weren’t right for me and I quit. Which I think broke my dad’s heart. Well, a friend of mine suggested I go out for the track team.”

His very first day as a high jumper, having never attempted the sport before, he cleared 6-feet 4-inches. At the time, the school record was 6-feet-5.

“Just happened out of the blue,” he said. “High jumping was just something I was gifted at. I could jump off one leg really well. It was just a stroke of luck that I gave up baseball to high jump.”

Plab went on to raise the bar — literally — to a new level in the metro-east.

As a junior, he placed second in the Class AA state track and field meet, then as a senior in 1989, set a school record of 7 feet, 2 1/2 inches, which still stands today. Plab would go on to place second in the state championship as a senior in 1989.

After a short 32-day stint at the University of Illinois and sitting out a semester, Plab enrolled at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where he would become one of the top high jumpers in the world. He twice won the NCAA Division I championship, clearing 7 feet, 6 1/2 inches in 1991 and 7 feet, 8 inches in 1992.

But Plab’s biggest honor came in 1992 when he qualified as a member of the United States Olympic Team to compete in Barcelona, Spain.

Plab failed to earn a medal, but he carries the honor of representing his country to this day.

“I don’t think you really realize it at the time. I was so young,” he said. “I was only 21 and I don’t think at that age I realized what it meant to represent my country. To be an Olympic athlete was a wonderful experience but it’s something that you appreciate more as you get older. Now as I look back I appreciate what an honor it was to represent our nation. There is no better place in the world to live than the United States of America.”

Now 45, Plab lives in Mascoutah where he owns a successful lawn care business.

College days

Plab says basketball was his first love. In fact, he received several scholarship offers from small colleges and eventually played at Southwestern Illinois College.

While in high school, he jumped 7-feet at the state meet as a junior, but lost to Jason James, of Mount Vernon.

“That had to be a first — jumping 7-feet at the state track meet and not winning the state title,” he said. “I only went 6-8 as a senior when I placed second. But I had a groin injury that year.

“I really didn’t work at basketball as much as I should have. I had some offers from smaller colleges to play basketball. But it was more about my athletic ability. I could jump. I wish I would have worked harder at it.”

One of the top high school high jumpers in the nation, Plab chose to attend the University of Illinois after graduating from Mascoutah. Being from a small town, he wasn’t a Big 10 athlete very long.

Only 32 days to be exact.

“I was on a full ride scholarship at the University of Illinois and when I got there I just wasn’t happy. Being from a small town, it seemed so big to me. I was homesick and one month before I got there, the coach who had recruited me left for another job,” Plab said. “I was there a total of 32 days then came home and sat out a semester.

“The coach at SIU then contacted me. My sister D.D. played college basketball at SIU and I knew all the men’s and women’s basketball coaches and so I was just much more comfortable there. It felt more like home.“

Plab’s high-jumping career took off from there. With a jump of 7 feet, 6 1/2 inches, he won the NCAA Division I championship in 1991 then repeated as the national champion in 1992 with a leap of 7 feet, 8 inches.

It was at the NCAA Championships in 1992 where Plab set his sights beyond the world record. He pushed the bar to 8 feet. And missed.

“Looking back at it now, I probably should have tried for the American record which I believe was 7 feet, 10 inches. But athletically, I never lacked confidence. I thought I could go 8 feet and I wanted to break the world record,” Plab said. “I had one decent attempt at it. I don’t know if I would call it close or not. But it was decent.”

Two months later in New Orleans, Plab, still representing SIUC, jumped a personal best of 7 feet, 8 1/2 inches to nab one of three spots to become a member of the United States Olympic Team.

Plab and Barcelona

Plab left the United States a week ahead of the start of the Olympics to train in Barcelona. It was a decision he would regret.

“Looking back now, it wasn’t the best decision for me to go over a week ahead of the start of the games. I think I may have got a little overwhelmed by everything and may have been a little awestruck of being there. Plus, I had never had any international experience,” Plab said. “I probably should have waited until a couple of days before the high jump competition to go over and jump.

“That was more my personality anyway.”

Plab didn’t jump well. His best leap of 7 feet, 3 1/2 inches failed to make the finals. Plab finished 15th in the event.

Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor, still the only high jumper to clear 8 feet, won the gold medal in 1992 at 7 feet, 8.13 inches — less than Plab’s personal best.

“I just didn’t jump well,” Plab said. “If I had jumped the way I had been, maybe I would have won a medal. But being in the Olympic Games is something; it was a great experience.”

After competing in the 1992 Olympics, Plab moved to California to train, but it wasn’t the same.

“I lost my drive and my desire to train the way you need to in order to be able to compete at an elite level,” Plab said. “It was over. Once I lost that I knew it was time to go home. So I did. The girl I was dating and I got in the car and came home.”

This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 6:21 AM with the headline "Olympian Plab raised the bar for metro-east athletes."