Next-best Women's Vault Competition?

[roger/over]

There surely can’t be any argument against today’s vault finals in the World Championships being the highest-quality competition in the history of the women’s event. Admittedly, my search has been a quick one with some hazard of error, but I find that the marks of the vaulters placing third through ninth are the highest ever, in any meet, for those places.

The exceptions in height-for-place are in first place, where better performances in winning have been attained by Isinbayeva (5.01), Feofanova (4.88), Stuczynski (4.88), Dragila (4.83) and Rogowska (4.83); and in second place, where the only better runner-up mark I found was Rogowska’s 4.83 in finishing second to Isinbayeva at Bruxelles on 26 August 2005.

For the other places, Feofanova’s third-place 4.75 betters her own best third of 4.70 at Lausanne in 2006; Pyrek’s fourth-place 4.75 betters Feofanova’s fourth finish of 4.62 at Bruxelles in 2004; Boslak’s fifth-place 4.70 improves on Annika Beckers 4.58 for fifth at Stockholm in 2003; Golubchikova’s sixth-place 4.65 betters Murer’s 4.51 at Saint-Denis in 2006; Murer’s 4.65 for seventh betters Grigorieva’s 4.56 seventh at Bruxelles in 2006; Rogowska’s eighth-place 4.60 improves on Polnova’s 4.51 of 2006 at Saint-Denis; and Polnova’s 4.60 for ninth improves on the previously-best ninth-place finish of 4.41 by Schwartz, also at Saint-Denis in 2006

The frequent appearance of Saint-Denis in the above summary offers a suggestion that the GAZ meet there on 8 July 2006 may have had the best-previous women’s vault competition. The complete results were:

1. Isinbayeva 4.76
2. Boslak 4.61
3. Pyrek 4.61
4. Ryjikh 4.61
5. Grigorieva 4.51
6. Murer 4.51
7. Sauer 4.51
8. Polnova 4.51
9. Schwartz 4.41

But probably a better contender for second-best-ever might be the Bruxelles Van Damme of 25 August 2006:

1. Isinbayeva 4.81
2. Murer 4.66
3. Pyrek 4.66
4. Spiegelburg 4.56
5. Polnova 4.56
6. Stuczynski 4.56
7. Grigorieva 4.56
8. Schwartz 4.46
9. Golubchikova 4.36

Any other candidates for second-best ever?

[roger/over]

Reading quickly through the summary of improvements in height-for-place, I saw that I didn't deal very well with the sixth-place tie between Golubchikova and Murer in making the comparisons. I should have said it better as:

Golubchikova’s and Murer's sixth-place 4.65 betters Murer’s 4.51 for sixth at Saint-Denis in 2006; and their tie for sixth/seventh betters Grigorieva’s 4.56 seventh at Bruxelles in 2006;