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Juneau’s Leif Richards breaks 45-year record at World Eskimo-Indian Olympics
- Mark Sabbatini
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Greased pole walk of 15’ 4.5" is nearly two feet longer than previous high; other Juneau participants also claim top spots in traditional Indigenous events at four-day competition in Fairbanks
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Walking 15 feet and 4.5 inches isn’t a big deal. Doing so on a heavily greased wood pole a few inches wide is a historically big deal.
Juneau resident Leif Richards broke — by a considerable amount — a 45-year-old world record for the greased pole walk by walking that distance Thursday at the 65th annual World Eskimo-Indian Olympics in Fairbanks. The previous WEIO record of 13 feet 6 inches was set by Gene Andrew in 1981, according to the nonprofit organization hosting the four-day event that ended Saturday.
“Last year I got negative-two inches in grease pole walk," Richards told KTUU. "I don’t know, it’s just I come here for the community and to help people out. Winning is just like a little fun upside."
Richards, a sophomore at the University of Alaska Anchorage and 2025 graduate of Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé, has been competing in WEIO events since 2020. He also has been a competitor, team captain and coach for the Native Youth Olympics, which like the WEIO features traditional Inuit and Alaska Native sports.
He told KTUU that other activities of his such as "rock climbing, ice climbing, and a tiny bit of slacklining" helped him train for the greased pole walk.
WEIO, in a Facebook post showing Richards’ record feat, notes "the Greased Pole Walk represents the treacherous task of navigating slick, wet, and highly unpredictable sea ice, glaciers, or wet fish wheel logs during subsistence hunting and fishing. The game tests a person's mental focus, core stability, and the invaluable survival skill of keeping your composure under incredibly unstable conditions."
Richards’ first coach, according to the Alaska Sports Report, was Kyle Worl, who has amassed more than 100 medals across various competitions. Worl earned yet another gold medal in the knuckle hop competition that was the final event at this year’s WEIO — with his distance of 152 feet 6 inches far outpacing runner-up Colton Paul of Kipnuk at 118 feet 4 inches.
An article published Friday by the U.K. newspaper The Guardian declares "Worl, a Tlingit, Yup’ik and Deg Hit’an Athabascan wellness administrator and coach, is on a mission to pass down the traditions to the youth."
“I’m part of a long unbroken passage of knowledge,” Worl, 35, told the newspaper. “There have been many challenging points in our people’s history where things were almost taken from us: our language, our culture. It really is this generation’s responsibility to be intentional and put forth a good effort to keep it going.”
Another first-place Juneau competitor was Mila Neely in the toe kick at 48 inches (ahead of Renee Romer of Kipnuk at 46 inches). Neely also finished second in the women’s greased pole walk at 30 inches (behind Avery Reece of North Pole at 31.5 inches) and third in the Race of the Messenger at 26 feet 18 inches (behind Alice Johnston of Palmer at 23 feet 55 inches). Among other Juneau competitors, Dawn Pecson finished third in the women’s stick pull.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
