IAAF Year in Review - Pole Vault
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:33 am
http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=37096.html
Pole Vault
Following his Commonwealth Games win, 24-year-old Steve Hooker (AUS) came to Europe to record an impressive season including a 5.96m personal best in Berlin and a World Cup win. Hooker finished the season ranked number one having soon promise for many years following his fourth place finish at the 2000 World Junior Championships.
Last year he raised his personal best to 5.87m, but was not yet ready for a steady European summer season. During 2006 Hooker was the best of the vaulters finishing at or near the top in most meetings. Countryman Paul Burgess came closest to Hooker’s level. Burgess, who jumped 6.00m last year, set his season’s best 5.92m in Germany in July and finished in top three in many important meetings. The Australian was at his best level at the end of the season finishing second behind Hooker (5.96m) in Berlin at 5.91m and then winning the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart.
There was also one new six metre man, Brad Walker (USA), who won the World Indoor Championships in Moscow in March, vaulted 6.00m in Jockgrim, Germany, in July. There were 16 vaulters over 5.80m in 2006, 15 in 2005, 19 in 2004 and 10 in 2003. USA is the top country with 24 athletes in the world top 100, Germany is second with 13 and Russia third at eight.
Pole Vault
Last year in the review it was noted that rapid rise in standards experienced in the late 1990's and early 2000's seemed to have almost come to a standstill although this had gone unnoticed due to the steady flow of World records courtesy of Yelena Isinbayeva. Now in 2006 there weren’t any new records outdoors as Isinbayeva after switching coaches was in the process of making significant changes to her technique.
She still remained the undisputed No 1 of the event although she had to settle for 4.91 – i.e. 10 cm below her World record set in the 2005 World Championships – as her best mark for the year. But this standstill/regress at the very top was actually accompanied by a resumed forward motion in general standards.
That trend is not very pronounced at deeper levels – e.g. 100th in the World list remains at or around 4.20 – but is quite strong at the "international class" level: From 1999 to 2005 the number of 4.50-vaulters was 4 – 10 – 12 – 14 – 13 – 19 – 14, jumping all the way to 28 this year! It remains to be seen whether this will result in a similar push to the next level in the future because hasn’t happened now: The number of 4.70-vaulters remained within the 3-6 bracket we had seen for the four previous years.
And if anyone aspires to truly challenge Isinbayeva's position as No 1 she needs to raise her game another quarter of a metre or so. Monika Pyrek (POL), Anna Rogowska (POL), and Svetlana Feofanova (RUS) have been the main contenders for No 2 in recent years thanks to their consistency at 4.70/4.80 but that steadiness could also be interpreted as levelling off in the progress.
So we might have to look elsewhere for the next challenger of the 5 meter barrier. Searching for strong upward trends the most interesting names to be found in the current world elite is Jen Stuczynski (USA) and Fabiana Murer (BRA). Both improved by about a quarter of a metre to show consistency at 4.60+ levels this summer. Especially Stuczynski must have a lot of untapped potential as this was her only second year of serious pole vaulting.
Pole Vault
Following his Commonwealth Games win, 24-year-old Steve Hooker (AUS) came to Europe to record an impressive season including a 5.96m personal best in Berlin and a World Cup win. Hooker finished the season ranked number one having soon promise for many years following his fourth place finish at the 2000 World Junior Championships.
Last year he raised his personal best to 5.87m, but was not yet ready for a steady European summer season. During 2006 Hooker was the best of the vaulters finishing at or near the top in most meetings. Countryman Paul Burgess came closest to Hooker’s level. Burgess, who jumped 6.00m last year, set his season’s best 5.92m in Germany in July and finished in top three in many important meetings. The Australian was at his best level at the end of the season finishing second behind Hooker (5.96m) in Berlin at 5.91m and then winning the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart.
There was also one new six metre man, Brad Walker (USA), who won the World Indoor Championships in Moscow in March, vaulted 6.00m in Jockgrim, Germany, in July. There were 16 vaulters over 5.80m in 2006, 15 in 2005, 19 in 2004 and 10 in 2003. USA is the top country with 24 athletes in the world top 100, Germany is second with 13 and Russia third at eight.
Pole Vault
Last year in the review it was noted that rapid rise in standards experienced in the late 1990's and early 2000's seemed to have almost come to a standstill although this had gone unnoticed due to the steady flow of World records courtesy of Yelena Isinbayeva. Now in 2006 there weren’t any new records outdoors as Isinbayeva after switching coaches was in the process of making significant changes to her technique.
She still remained the undisputed No 1 of the event although she had to settle for 4.91 – i.e. 10 cm below her World record set in the 2005 World Championships – as her best mark for the year. But this standstill/regress at the very top was actually accompanied by a resumed forward motion in general standards.
That trend is not very pronounced at deeper levels – e.g. 100th in the World list remains at or around 4.20 – but is quite strong at the "international class" level: From 1999 to 2005 the number of 4.50-vaulters was 4 – 10 – 12 – 14 – 13 – 19 – 14, jumping all the way to 28 this year! It remains to be seen whether this will result in a similar push to the next level in the future because hasn’t happened now: The number of 4.70-vaulters remained within the 3-6 bracket we had seen for the four previous years.
And if anyone aspires to truly challenge Isinbayeva's position as No 1 she needs to raise her game another quarter of a metre or so. Monika Pyrek (POL), Anna Rogowska (POL), and Svetlana Feofanova (RUS) have been the main contenders for No 2 in recent years thanks to their consistency at 4.70/4.80 but that steadiness could also be interpreted as levelling off in the progress.
So we might have to look elsewhere for the next challenger of the 5 meter barrier. Searching for strong upward trends the most interesting names to be found in the current world elite is Jen Stuczynski (USA) and Fabiana Murer (BRA). Both improved by about a quarter of a metre to show consistency at 4.60+ levels this summer. Especially Stuczynski must have a lot of untapped potential as this was her only second year of serious pole vaulting.