Men's pole vault at Zurich Main Railway Station, 2015 IAAF Diamond League final (© Jean-Pierre Durand)
Canada’s newly crowned pole vault world champion Shawn Barber carried on his good form with a convincing win under cover in Zurich’s Main Railway Station, clearing 5.92m on Wednesday evening.
Like with previous years, when the organisers staged shot put contests in the same venue as curtain raisers to the main IAAF Diamond League final, which will be held at the nearby Letzigrund stadium in the Swiss city on Thursday, it will be considered an indoor competition (and it was not a Diamond League discipline).
Consequently, Barber improved his own Canadian indoor record by a centimetre and consolidated his second place on the 2015 indoor lists.
“It was a great experience and definitely different to outdoors, but it was fun,” said Barber.
Five men cleared 5.67m – including Germany’s 2013 world champion and 2015 silver medallist Raphael Holzdeppe and Poland’s Beijing bronze medallist Piotr Lisek – and attempted 5.77m.
Barber went clear with his first attempt but the four others all brought the bar down three times.
Secure in the knowledge that he had won, he had the bar raised to 5.92m and cleared that height on his second attempt.
He then attempted 6.01m three times, unsuccessfully trying to join the super-elite group of 18 men who have cleared six metres or better.
Lisek was second at 5.67m on countback with Holzdeppe third at the same height, the latter paying for his three attempts to clear 5.57m.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF
