The weather conditions were sufficiently bad—and expected to worsen later in the day—that the competition management decided to delay the women’s pole vault final until Friday evening.
Unfortunately, the decathlon pole vault had to go on as scheduled because of the requirement that the event be completed in two consecutive days. Such challenges are part and parcel of a decathlete’s life.
Undoubtedly longing for the warmth of his younger days in Hawaii, Bryan Clay (USA) fought the strong crosswinds and wrestled his way to 4.90—the same height he cleared on a much balmier day last August in Athens—to increase his lead over Roman Sebrle (CZE).
The Czech managed 4.80, but then passed 4.90 in order to use his remaining energy at 5.00, a height which he thought might cut into Clay’s advantage. That five-metre jump didn’t materialize, and the two top athletes became even more separated as only two disciplines remain.
After eight events, the American is now 222 points ahead of the man who defeated him last year at the Olympics. Most surprising is the fact that Clay’s eight-event total of 7274 is nine points more than he had at this stage in Athens under much more inviting conditions.
Sebrle still holds second with 7052, but Aleksandr Pogorelov (RUS) profited from a 5.00 leap to move into third within 80 points of the Czech at 6972.
The top vaulter of the day was Andre Niklaus (GER). The 23-year-old, twice a European under-23 decathlon champion, equaled his outdoor PB 5.30 and moved up three spots into sixth place with 6800.
Kristjan Rahnu (EST) dropped to fourth at 6899 as a result of his 4.70 vault, as Attila Zsivóczky (HUN) held fast to fifth with a 4.80 jump and 6872 total points.
