POLE VAULT MARATHON
It normally takes some time to get through the pole vault qualifying at the best of times, but no one reckoned with an extra hour after Finn Matti Mononen, competing in group B, landed heavily on the crossbar and ripped out the height adjuster arm attempting 5.45 metres. After initially trying to fix the arm, a halt was called to the proceedings and a gradual accumulation of officials saw the arrival of four IAAF Council members, including Sergey Bubka, to decide what to do.
The eventual decision, because of the time delay, was to reduce the qualifying height from 5.75 metres to 5.60.
Finally, 90 minutes after being responsible for the delay, Manninen took his third attempt at 5.45 with the crowd willing him on. But the drama was not over yet. The Finn appeared to fail, landing on his feet under the bar but since he had not broken the line of the bar rushed back to the pole rack, chose a different pole and with five seconds to go got in his fourth vault, but was still unsuccessful.
Helsinki is famous for its tricky swirling winds. In 1983 when Bubka won his first of six world titles, the qualifying was abandoned because of torrential rain and the whole field advanced to the final which took a marathon seven hours to complete.
As if there had not already been enough drama with 1996 Olympic champion, Jean Galfione FRA going out at 5.45. The Frenchman had already required two goes at 5.30 and looked uneasy in the conditions. In the Paris Grand Prix he had no heighted, but had cleared 5.75 this year winning the French championships.
Olympic silver and medal favourite Toby Stevenson USA eliminated himself by not taking any jumps though he was out in the centre. Eight days ago he injured a hamstring and decided at the last minute not to jeopardise the leg further.
Meanwhile the decision to lower the qualifying height was having interesting consequences. Who would have thought it was possible to reach the final by vaulting 5.45 because that had not happened in the World Championships for almost 20 years since Rome 1987. But that was the situation that American Trials winner Brad Walker USA, defending champion Giuseppe Gibilisco ITA, Danny Ecker GER, Rens Blom NED, Daichi Sawano JPN and Kevin Rans BEL found themselves in.
Galfione missed out because he had failed once at 5.30.
From group A Nick Hysong USA, Igor Pavlov RUS, Patrik Kristiansson SWE, Tim Lobinger GER and Dmitri Markov AUS had gone through clearing 5.60. But group B were finding conditions more difficult. It was two hours 58 minutes after the qualifying started before Pavel Gerasimov RUS joined them becoming the only vaulter from group B to get over the new qualifying height.
