With Bar Lifted, Johnson Naturally Takes Shot : Women’s pole vault: Former Olympic gymnast eager to try a sport still in its infancy at the international level.

BURBANK —  Pole-vaulters are often referred to as the gymnasts of track and field, so perhaps it is natural for a former world-class gymnast to participate in a learn-by-doing clinic at a pole-vaulting competition Saturday at Verdugo Park in Burbank.

Kathy Johnson, the 1984 Olympic bronze medalist in the balance beam and a Burbank resident, will vault for the first time at the clinic that follows the men’s invitational competition.

Johnson, 35, retired from gymnastics after the 1984 Games, but became interested in the pole vault last summer while in St. Petersburg, Russia, to announce the gymnastics portion of the Goodwill Games for ABC television.

Johnson was at the stadium with broadcasting colleagues Dwight Stones and Craig Masback when she realized that the athletes participating in the pole-vault competition that day were women, not men.

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God. I don’t believe this,’ ” Johnson said. “ ‘I’d like to at least try this.’ ”

Although the women’s pole vault is in its infant stages at the international level--the world record is 13-5 3/4--it’s not entirely foreign to Johnson.

She watched her brother, Mike, compete for UCLA in the mid-1980s and always figured that a background in gymnastics could increase a vaulter’s chance for success.

She will test that theory first-hand Saturday as event organizer Brooks Morris--a former standout at Burroughs High--will give interested individuals a chance to try pole-vaulting

The 5-foot-1 1/2, 104-pound Johnson has stayed in excellent shape since retiring and is looking forward to a new athletic challenge.

“I’m not sure how serious I’m going to get about (the pole vault),” she said. “I think it depends on how it goes. I have nothing to base it on since I’ve never done it before, but I want to give it a try. . . . If I fall in love with it, I’ll have to see how much time I’m willing to devote to it.”

John Besmer, a former standout at Cal State Chico, leads the list of entrants in the invitational portion of the meet. Besmer has a personal best of 18 feet 1 inch.

Other top entries are Scott Slover (17-1 personal best) of UCLA; Morris (16-11); Dan Tapia (16-7) of Cal State Los Angeles, and Borya Orloff (16-6) of UC Irvine.

Slover and Orloff finished 1-2 in the State high school championships in June while competing for San Jose Leland and St. John Bosco.

The high school, open and masters’ portion of the meet will start at 8 a.m. followed by the women’s/girls’ competition at 11 and the men’s invitational event at 1:30.