IAAF - 2010 Year in Review

News about pole vault competitions that occur outside the US and international pole vaulters.
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IAAF - 2010 Year in Review

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Wed Dec 29, 2010 2:15 pm

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=58969.html


Pole Vault –

The top two of the men’s Pole Vault from 2009 were again fighting for the top spot this season as well. Although 28-year-old Australian Steve Hooker has established himself as the clear number one vaulter in major championships having now won the Olympics, World Championships and World Indoor Championships within just two years, he hasn’t exactly maintained the same level of performance in other meets during the year. Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie didn’t succeed in challenging Hooker in Berlin last year, but his 2010 season was a fine one and very consistent too. The Frenchman competed 24 times during the season winning 19 of them including 5-2 against Hooker, and won 10 straight meets from 30 May to 31 July with the streak finally ending in London in August where he couldn’t clear his opening height. Lavillenie, who also won the 2009 European Indoor title, was crowned European champion in Barcelona with a good 5.85m result and his only bigger loss of the season came in Split where Hooker was better 5.95m to 5.90m in a high standard competition.

Hooker started well winning seven straight from the start of the season including his second six metre vault indoors, 6.01m in Doha where he won the World indoor title. But summer was inconsistent for the Australian with five no heights and several other low performances although he did gather himself well for the final push winning the Continenal Cup with a world leader and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi as well.

Malte Mohr, 24, also showed promise of a better future. Mohr set personal bests indoors with 5.83m and outdoors with 5.90m and took a surprise silver from the World Indoor Championships in March. But it wasn’t all good for Mohr either as he could not qualify for the European final, only placing 17th with a 5.50m leap in qualification.

The United States heads this event with 22 athletes in the world top 100. Germany and Russia were tied for the second place each having 12.



Pole Vault -

"Year 1 AI" ("After Isinbayeva") produced nothing exceptional - i.e. the others went on doing what they had done before. The only difference being that they were not overshadowed directly by her achievements. But of course the memory of Isinbayeva's exploits at the 5m-level still lingered, just like their male counterparts still have to suffer the comparisons with Bubka's supreme performances in the 1980s and 1990s.

The top mark of the year belonged to Jenn Suhr (ex-Stuczynski) with her 4.89m at the USA Championships but once more injury cut the season very short for the American: Just three meets at 4.50m - 4.89m - no height, all on US soil. And with surprise 2009 World champion Anna Rogowska also obviously (half a season, no great heights) hampered by injuries the fight for the No 1 position left vacant by Isinbayeva's winter decision to take time-out from the sport became a three-way battle.

The three contenders – thanks to their consistency at 4.70m or better – were Fabiana Murer (BRA), Svetlana Feofanova (RUS) and Silke Spiegelburg (GER) and looking back at the complete season they sorted out their internal order quite clearly: In the Diamond League Murer was 4-1-1 for top-3 places, Feofanova 2-2-1 and Spiegelburg 1-2-2 (plus a 4th). Murer also was the only one (besides Suhr) getting over 4.80m - and she did it three times – so the No 1 ranking for Isinbayeva's part-time training partner in the end turned out indisputable.

It will be very interesting to follow the effects Isinbayeva's announced return to the "Pole Vault wars" in 2011 will have on the others. Will she remain as supreme as before or will she make the others raise their game to her level, i.e. to seriously challenge the 5m-barrier? The mostly likely candidates then would be Suhr (if she can stay healthy) and Murer. Or will we have to wait for someone from the current crop of talents born in the 1990's?

The two main names then appear to be Angelica Bengtsson of Sweden and Liz Parnov of Australia who despite being youths born in 1993 and 1994 respectively also were the top-2 juniors in the world. Bengtsson – who received the Rising Star Award at the World Athletics Gala – has shown extraordinary "Big time ability" having – despite her tender age – already picked up no less than three global titles: World Youth in 2009, World Junior in 2010 and Youth Olympics in 2010.

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