Kurtis Marschall in the pole vault at the IAAF World Junior Championships Oregon 2014 (© Getty Images)
Twenty years have passed since this title was won by an Australian – Paul Burgess took gold at the 1996 championships in Sydney – but in world U20 leader Kurtis Marschall, the Aussies have every reason to believe that history is about to repeat itself.
Marschall broke the Oceanian U20 pole vault record with a 5.70m clearance in Mannheim last month, adding a whopping 15 centimetres to his PB in one fell swoop over the bar, putting him 10 centimetres ahead of his nearest competitor in Bydgoszcz, at least on paper.
The 19-year-old’s strongest challenge is likely to come from Christopher Nilsen of the US, who cleared 5.60m in Kansas City back in May and confirmed his medal-winning potential last month in Clovis, California, where he took the US U20 title with a best of 5.50m. Just behind him that day, with a best of 5.45m, was Deakin Volz, who will renew his rivalry with Nilsen in Bydgoszcz.
The European challenge is led by Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who is clearing heights never before witnessed from an athlete so young. The 16-year-old soared over a world U18 best of 5.55m in Ostrava in May, and despite being eligible for the next edition of this championships in Tampere, he should be in the medal shake-up in Bydgoszcz.
Another athlete worthy of the utmost respect is Ukraine’s Vladyslav Malykhin, who also has a 5.55m clearance to his name this year. Sweden’s world U18 champion Armand Duplantis is another youngster on a seemingly unstoppable ascent, the 16-year-old setting a Swedish U20 record of 5.51m earlier this week.
The strongest of the Asian competitors appears to be Japan’s Masaki Ejima, who cleared 5.42m in Kawasaki in May but has only managed a best of 5.00m on his two most recent outings.
With such a strong field in attendance, there is every chance that the championship record of 5.71m, belonging to Argentina’s German Chiaraviglio since 2006, will be under threat.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF
