Browsing: vault

World Champs Menâ€s Pole Vault — Mondo Caps Epic Fight With WR

blankThe denouement was like Eugene â€22 and the Paris Olympics, a Duplantis WR to finish off, but this time a determined competitor pushed him far longer into the comp. (KIRBY LEE/IMAGE OF SPORT)

THE GREATEST VAULT in history was born out of great competition, with Mondo Duplantis soaring over a new World Record on a night where Manolo Karalís pushed the Swede harder than ever.

The battle between the two was at once familiar — they had gone 1-2 in 12 competitions this season — and unprecedented. The two started their jousting at the opening height, where Duplantis rocketed far over the 18-2½ (5.55) bar, while Karalís passed to 18-10¼ (5.75), which he made easily. Also showing strong form were American Sam Kendricks (the lone Yank in the final) and Australian Kurt Marschall.

At 19-2¼ (5.85), Kendricks delivered a strong clearance on his first attempt, then Duplantis put together another giant leap. Marschall cleared as well, and the three shared the lead as Karalís passed again.

The bar went to 19-4¼ (5.90), and Karalís, on his second jump of the night, made it over with room to spare. Kendricks brushed the bar off with his legs. Marschall cleared and Duplantis passed. With nothing more to gain at that altitude, Kendricks opted to save his two remaining tries for the next height.

The first miss of the night for Karalís came on his initial try at 19-6¼ (5.95), when he brushed the bar off the standards with his chest. Kendricks also had trouble, kicking it off with his feet on the way up. For Mondo, the bar posed no problem; he not only cleared with plenty of space, but he extended all his limbs in an unusual flourish at the top. Marschall missed but came close.

Kendricks, looking at a 7th-place finish should he knock the crossbar down again on his final try, came up with a clutch clearance, coming into all kinds of contact with the bar but leaving it aloft and jiggling. Marschall made it over with a couple of inches of room. Karalís missed his second try. On his third with his back to the wall, the Greek delivered.

Three others with misses at 19-6¼ passed to the next height: Franceâ€s Thibaut Collet, Norwayâ€s Sondre Guttormsen and Netherlands†Menno Vloon. An unprecedented, in any meet, seven competitors would leap at 19-8¼ (6.00).

Karalís, up first, made it look easy to retake the lead. Kendricks again kicked it off with his feet. Duplantis flew over easily. Marschall had the height but came down on the bar. He missed his next two as well, but was ahead of Kendricks on misses and — after the others went out —secured the bronze to repeat his Budapest placing.

Then there were two. They both passed 19-10¼ (6.05). For Karalís, 20-0 (6.10) would have been a Greek record. He had plenty of height but nailed it with his chest on the way down. Mondo flew over without contact, and the Greek passed to 20-2 (6.15). He missed, and Mondo again went over perfectly. Karalís — far more interested in winning than in Greek records — passed to 20-4 (6.20), a height that only Duplantis has ever cleared. He produced a strong effort, but at 12cm higher than his lifetime best, the bar was too much.

Alone now, though sitting with his rival talking, Duplantis asked for the inevitable, a World Record height of 20-8 (6.30). With action on the track finished, he had the audience to himself and exhorted them to clap. Then he charged down the runway and leapt into the air — oh so close he was, but his right thigh brushed it off on the way down.

On the second try, with the stadium announcer exhorting the crowd to clap, “Hakushu! Hakushu!â€, Mondo came even closer, the bar wiggling and falling after being scraped lightly by his knee.

Duplantis, determined to give the audience a record, went into full battle mode, requesting that a pounding rock song be played at top volume. It did the trick. On his last effort, he ran faster, then shot into the air, the golden spike plates of his Puma “Claw†shoes shooting over the bar. He had plenty of contact with the crosspiece but it stayed up. The crowd roared for World Record No. 14.

Mondo leapt off the pit to embrace Karalís, then dodged the mass of photographers to make it to the stands to celebrate with his fiance. When officials asked him to pose with the signboard, he ran past them to bow to the audience in thanks.

“I was feeling really good the whole day. I knew I had the record in me. If I have the right runway I know that everything is possible. I am glad it all worked out. As soon as I take off, from transition from the ground through the air, I know if the jump is going to be valid. I know if Iâ€ve transferred enough energy or itâ€s not really going to work out. The run says it all, everything is about speed. As long as I have that right, I know it will work out for me.â€

He added, “Today was a pretty much a dream competition. I was not alone at a lot of heights. I have never jumped at 6.20 and had another guy with me. Thatâ€s quite special. I got juices from it. I am very proud of [Karalís] for performing, not only today but throughout the season. He is pushing me and making me a better jumper.â€

MENâ€S POLE VAULT RESULTS

FINAL (September 15)

1. Mondo Duplantis (Swe) 20-8 (6.30) WR;

2. Manolo Karalís (Gre) 19-8¼ (6.00);

3. Kurtis Marschall (Aus) 19-6¼ (5.95) =PR;

4. Sam Kendricks (US) 19-6¼ (5.95);

5. Thibaut Collet (Fra) 19-4¼ (5.90);

6. Sondre Guttormsen (Nor) 19-4¼ (5.90) =PR;

7. Menno Vloon (Neth) 19-4¼ (5.90);

8. Renaud Lavillenie (Fra) 18-10¼ (5.75);

9. Abdesalam Seifeldin Heneida (Qat) 18-10¼ (5.75) =NR;

10. Bo Kanda Lita Baehre (Ger) 18-10¼ (5.75);

11. Ethan Cormont (Fra) 18-2½ (5.55);

… nh—Ersu Şaşma (Tur).

(best-ever mark-for-place: =4, 7)

18-2½
18-10¼
19-2¼
19-4¼
19-6¼
19-8¼
19-10¼
20-0
20-2
20-4
20-8

Karalís
p
o
p
o
xxo
o
p
xp
xp
x
—

Kendricks
o
o
o
xp
xo
xxx
—
—
—
—
—

Duplantis
o
p
o
p
o
o
p
o
o
p
xxo

Marschall
o
o
o
o
xo
xxx
—
—
—
—
—

Collet
xo
o
o
o
xxp
x
—
—
—
—
—

ÅžaÅŸma
xxx
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

Lavillenie
p
o
p
xp
xx
—
—
—
—
—
—

Vloon
o
xxo
xxo
o
xp
xx
—
—
—
—
—

Lita Baehre
o
xxo
xxx
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

Guttormsen
o
xxo
xo
o
xp
xx
—
—
—
—
—

Abdelsalam
o
xo
xxx
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

Cormont
xo
xxx
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

5.55
5.75
5.85
5.90
5.95
6.00
6.05
6.10
6.15
6.20
6.30

QUALIFYING (September 13; auto-qualifier 19-¼/5.80)

Qualifiers: all qualifiers cleared 18-10¼/5.75 (=highest Q ever);

Non-Qualifiers: [18-8¼/5.70; =highest non-Q ever]—David Holý (CzR), Piotr Lisek (Pol), Matt Ludwig (US), Ben Broeders (Bel), Hussain Asim Al-Hizam (Sau);

[18-2½/5.55]—Oleksandr Onufriyev (Ukr), EJ Obiena (Phi), MatÄ›j Å Äerba (CzR), Chenyang Li (Chn), Simone Bertelli (Ita), Oleg Zernikel (Ger), Austin Miller (US), Valters KreiÅ¡s (Lat);

[17-8½/5.40] – Artur Coll (Spa), Márton Böndör (Hun), Simen Guttormsen (Nor), Tao Zhong (Chn), Torben Blech (Ger), Ioánnis Rizos (Gre);

… nh—Matteo Oliveri (Ita), Ricardo Montes (Ven), Bokai Huang (Chn), Kyle Rademeyer (SA), Urho Kujanpää (Fin).

blank

Jeff Hollobaugh is a writer and stat geek who has been associated with T&FN in various capacities since 1987. He is the author of How To Race The Mile. He lives in Michigan where he can often be found announcing track meets in bad weather.

Post navigation

Source link

Australiaâ€s Kurtis Marschall takes pole vault bronze in epic Tokyo final | World Athletics Championships

Armand Duplantisâ€s world record rightfully stole the spotlight, but the true nature of pole vaulting revealed itself in a brief moment from Mondayâ€s epic menâ€s final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Kurtis Marschall was moments away from his second world championship medal, and Australiaâ€s first in Tokyo. It was 10.09pm, and his final rival for bronze stood at the top of the runway. American Sam Kendricks – then in fourth behind the Australian – had his pole over his shoulder eyeing a clearance that would slide Marschall off the podium.

His rivalâ€s success would be to his detriment, but the South Australian did something otherwise unnatural in competitive sport. He raised his arms above his head and clapped, appealing to the crowd to join him and rally support for the American.

Kurtis Marschall of Australia celebrates after coming third in the pole vault. Photograph: Alex Plavevski/EPA

“Any other individual sport, youâ€re all out there trying to go for each otherâ€s throats,†Marschall said afterwards. “But, pole vaulters, weâ€re all out there basically just trying to be our best.â€

Seconds later and the bar went tumbling, and Marschall stood with his arms aloft. A cameraman was in his face capturing the moment the Australian won his countryâ€s first medal at the world championships. The 28-year-old had managed to secure the second bronze of his career, repeating his feat from two years ago in Budapest.

“Iâ€m super happy with how I performed and going clean through 90 [clearing 5.90m without a miss], Iâ€ve never done that before,†Marschall said. “To put myself in the mix the whole way, keep the pressure on, keep the foot to the floor, pedal to the metal, thatâ€s the way youâ€ve got to go about it.â€

Minutes earlier, Kendricks had made it over the bar at 5.95m to put himself into third behind Marschall. The other competitors were falling away, and the Americanâ€s delight was obvious. As the pair passed each other alongside the runway, Kendricks jumped up and down with delight and shared a warm greeting with the Australian. “To have people out there that genuinely have your back, win or lose is so special,†Marschall said. “Itâ€s not like that, I donâ€t think, in any other sport really, other than team sports.â€

A memorable evening reached its climax when the other competitors watched on and celebrated Duplantis†towering clearance of 6.30m – a new world record – and Marschall and silver medallist Emmanouil Karalis joined the Swede on a lap of honour. “This generation of pole vault is outrageous, like itâ€s ridiculous, but to be a part of it and mixing it with the big boys, I couldnâ€t be happier,†Marschall said.

By that stage the American was already in the tunnel speaking to press, empty-handed after his fourth-placed finish. In this same city four years ago, Kendricks – then one of the favourites for Olympic gold – was forced from competition at the 11th hour due to a positive Covid test. “I didnâ€t come into this competition trying to medal,†he said. “I came into this competition trying to make better memories about Tokyo.â€

skip past newsletter promotion

Sign up to Australia Sport

Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk

Privacy Notice:Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Kurtis Marschall in action. Photograph: Louise Delmotte/AP

Marschall, too, is pained when recalling those Olympic games after he no-heighted in the final. The pair have known each other for years, regulars on the world circuit in an event that forces athletes to spend hours alongside each other every time they compete. On Monday night there they were again, supporting and pushing each other.

“I put the pressure on him at 95 [5.95m] and he closed the book on me, and I was so thankful for that,†Kendricks said. “He kept me honest this whole year, it hasnâ€t been my best year, and Kurtis has been right there with me, encouraging me through defeat and success.â€

Although he hadnâ€t seen Marschall applauding to the crowd before his final attempt, Kendricks wasnâ€t surprised. “Once you get into this life long enough, youâ€re realising that maybe I want a friend more than I want a medal,†he said.

The Australianâ€s bronze is a triumph of recovery after his sickening injury last year. A severely dislocated ankle turned into a problematic wound, and he was below his best at Paris. But he has returned to form this year, and entered this meet ranked fourth in the world, behind only Duplantis, Karalis and Kendricks. “This has been my most consistent year, and just to finish it off with this and 5.95m and almost six [metres], perfect,†he said.

And although he genuinely wanted success for Kendricks when he applauded him before that decisive attempt, he still felt he had a clearance at 6m – which would have been a personal best – in him. “I feel like that first attempt was so close, probably the closest Iâ€ve ever been, and I back myself to get it either way, even if Sam cleared it.â€

Source link