Brussels - Isinbayeva 4.81

[Barto]

Code: Select all

Results - Pole Vault Women
Athlete              Nat 4.36 4.46 4.56 4.66 4.71 4.81 5.03
ISINBAYEVA, Yelena   RUS  -    -    -    o    -    xo   xxx
MURER, Fabiana       BRA  o    o    o    o    xxx
PYREK, Monika        POL  o    xo   o    xxo  xxx
SPIEGELBURG, Silke   GER  xo   -    xo   xxx
POLNOVA, Tatyana     RUS  o    o    xxo  xxx
STUCZYNSKI, Jennifer USA  -    o    xxo  xxx
GRIGORIEVA, Tatiana  AUS  o    xo   xxo  xxx
SCHWARTZ, Jillian    USA  xo   o    xxx
ROGOWSKA, Anna       POL  o    -    xxx
GOLUBCHIKOVA, Yuliya RUS  xo   xxx
RYJIKH, Nastja       GER  xo   xxx
HOWE, Kym            AUS  xxx

*Sigh* ... One o' dese days.

Maybe Wednesday in Warsaw.

Sorry Bruce, but she is not close to 5m shape right now. Maybe next year.

[BruceFlorman]

Sorry Bruce, but she is not close to 5m shape right now. Maybe next year.

I ain't losin' the faith just yet! I do wish she'd approach the record height in smaller increments though. It's well established that I know next to nothing about technique, and so maybe my "statistical analysis" is really no more than numeric superstition, but ... nevertheless ...

She set eight records last year, four indoor and four out. Of those eight, five were first-attempt clearances, and four of those were when her prior clearance was 10cm or less lower than the record. Only in Lausanne, her summer debut last year, did she go further, directly from 4.70 to 4.93, in a single step. Her other three records were second-attempt clearances, all with an increment greater than 10cm. On the other hand, she failed in her attempts at the record six times last year, and on five of those six occasions, the increment was more than 20cm, including an absurd 42cm increment from 4.60 to 5.02 in Moscow! Jeez, why not just open at the record height?

This year she's only set one world record (like "only" is a reasonable word to use ), in Donetsk back in February. And guess what. Her clearances were at 4.71, 4.81 and 4.91 â€â€

[Barto]

I am going to make some major generalizations here so please forgive me.

If you see an athlete attempt a record by raising the bar more than 15cm then there is a very good chance that they are just putting on a show for the fans. If they are serious about jumping high, you will see them attempt several bars in a set progression with the last bar ~10cm below the record.