Tim Mack was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He started pole vaulting when he was 13 years old and vaulted 13-6 at Saint Ignatius High School. Tim did not compete at the state high school track meet and thus was not recruited to pole vault in college. It was love of the sport and improving that drove him to continue pole vaulting in college.
Mack attended Malone College in Canton, Ohio for 3 years before transferring to University of Tennessee. While at UT, he won the 1985 SEC Indoor pole vault title and added the 1985 NCAA Indoor Championship as well, with a personal best vaulted of 18-4. After graduating in 1995, Mack attempted to make the 1996 USA Olympic team but failed to qualify.
After the 1996 Olympic disappointment, he remained in Knoxville and earned his Master’s degree while training and pursuing Olympic dreams with his coach Jim Bemiller. He worked odd jobs while training in Knoxville for the upcoming 2000 Olympic Trials. However, Mack finished eighth in the trials and once again failed to make the team.
Mack decided to transform his mind, body, and spirit in training in Knoxville for his third attempt at making the Olympic team. In 2000 he won his first major competition, the Goodwill Games, in Brisbane, Australia. The winnings from that meet afforded him the opportunity to continue training without working other jobs so he could focus solely on pole vaulting. In 2002 and 2010 he won the USA Indoor Pole Vault titles. After four long years of training, Mack finally made his Olympic dream come true at the age of 31. In the 2004 trials, his vault of 5.90 (19-4 ¼) was a personal best and at that time, an Olympic Trials record.
Mack went on to win the pole vault in the 2004 Olympic Games in similar fashion. He won a gold medal with a height of 5.95 meters (19-6 1/4). The winning vault was on his final attempt; a personal best and an Olympic Record.
Tim currently lives in Knoxville, Tenn., where he coaches high school and post-collegiate athletes in trying to reach the Olympics at the Tim Mack Pole Vault Academy.