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http://www.iaaf.org/WJC08/news/kind=100 ... 45462.html

National record highlights Russian Junior Championships

Darya Klishina of Russia on her way to gold in the World Youth Championships Long Jump final (Getty Images)
The Olympiyskiy stadium in Cheboksary, which recently hosted the opening ceremony of the IAAF World Race Walking Cup, last weekend was the venue for the competitive action of the Russian Junior Championships, the qualifying meet for the 12th IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 8-13 July.

Another good result was achieved by 18-year-old Yekaterina Kolesova who cleared 4.40m in Women's Pole Vault.

Pole Vault: Anatoliy Bednuk -5.00; Dmitriy Zheliabin — 5.00; Anton Burov — 4.80

Pole Vault: Yekaterina Kolesova — 4.40; Valeriya Volik — 4.30; Anastasiya Savchenko — 4.10

Becca’s Tuesday post on the Russian Junior Championships, recognizes Kolesova’s 4.40m as an exceptional performance for an 18-year-old. The IAAF article cited fails to mention that Veleriya Volik, second at 4.30, also is 18.

I’ve been working at updating my lists of good marks for young vaulters and can add some information about other 18-year-olds. I usually limit my searches to ages 12 to 17, but had just finished separating out 17s and 18s by birthdate and meet date, so can offer these further details. My only source has been Mirko Jalava’s World Deep Lists <tilastopaja.org>, from their first publication in 1996, and I have considered only his outdoor lists.

For starters, that was Kolesova’s first 4.40m. Volik has cleared that height before, including one at Sochi a month ago (May 25). The two Russians do not share this season’s best mark for 18-year-olds, however. That is currently held by Chinese vaulter Li Ling (bd 6 July 1989), with 4.45 at Hangzhou on 12 April. Incidentally, for those of us old-timers who still think of Chinese girls as petite, it’s interesting to note that Li Ling is 185/70, six feet tall by 154 pounds!

The first 4.40 by an 18-year-old was apparently by (surprise!) Yelena Isinbayeva (bd 3 June 1982) in finishing second at the Russian National Championships at Tula on 224 July 2000.

That height was improved upon by Floe Kuhnert of Germany with 4.41 in 2002, with the 4.41 matched by Germany’s Silke Spiegelburg in 2004. The current best for 18s is 4.45m by Zhao Yingzhu (CHN) at Changsha on 29 October 2006.

The first 4.40 by a 17-year-old was that of Zhang Yingning at Osaka in 2005. The first 4.40 by a 16-year old was by (hello!) Volik in 2006.