PoleVaultPower.com

Here's the Top 20, as listed by http://www.all-athletics.com/current-rankings?evtg=13 ...

Pl. (Pl.) Athlete Birth Nat. Score (Pr.Sc.)
1. (1.) Renaud LAVILLENIE 86 FRA 1405 (1409)
2. (2.) Konstantinos FILIPPIDIS 86 GRE 1332 (1309)
3. (3.) Thiago BRAZ 93 BRA 1319 (1299)
4. (6.) Sam KENDRICKS 92 USA 1301 (1281)
5. (5.) Aleksandr GRIPICH 86 RUS 1295 (1287)
6. (4.) Piotr LISEK 92 POL 1289 (1289)
7. (7.) Raphael HOLZDEPPE 89 GER 1276 (1276)
8. (8.) Paweł WOJCIECHOWSKI 89 POL 1271 (1275)
9. (10.) Jan KUDLIČKA 88 CZE 1268 (1263)
10. (9.) Shawn BARBER 94 CAN 1265 (1264)
11. (11.) Changrui XUE 91 CHN 1255 (1259)
12. (13.) Kevin MÉNALDO 92 FRA 1250 (1242)
13. (12.) Robert SOBERA 91 POL 1247 (1258)
14. (14.) Carlo PAECH 92 GER 1241 (1241)
15. (15.) Valentin LAVILLENIE 91 FRA 1230 (1230)
16. (17.) Tobias SCHERBARTH 85 GER 1227 (1227)
17. (19.) Jacob BLANKENSHIP 94 USA 1224 (1224)
18. (20.) Ilya MUDROV 91 RUS 1221 (1221)
19. (16.) Mark HOLLIS 84 USA 1219 (1228)
20. (18.) Brad WALKER 81 USA 1215 (1225)

I'm a little disappointed that Barber's only ranked #10 this year with a PR of 5.91 PR, but Kendricks is ranked #4 with a PR of just 5.82. Other than Barber's 5.60 last weekend.

Kirk

Here's the 12 vaulters that have cleared 5.80 or better outdoors this year ...

Result P.A. Pos. Athlete Birth Cnt. Type Pl. Venue Date R.S. Rec.
6.05 1. 1. Renaud LAVILLENIE 86 FRA F 1. Eugene (USA) 30.05 1281
5.92 2. 2. Thiago BRAZ 93 BRA F 2. Baku (AZE) 24.06 1245 AR
5.92 2. 2. Raphael HOLZDEPPE 89 GER F 1. Baku (AZE) 24.06 1245
5.91 4. 4. Shawn BARBER 94 CAN F 1. Austin (USA) 02.05 1242
5.91 4. 4. Konstantinos FILIPPIDIS 86 GRE F 1. Paris (FRA) 04.07 1242
5.82 6. 13. Sam KENDRICKS 92 USA F 1. Des Moines (USA) 25.04 1217
5.82 6. 13. Michal BALNER 82 CZE F 4. Baku (AZE) 24.06 1217
5.82 6. 13. Piotr LISEK 92 POL F 3. Baku (AZE) 24.06 1217
5.81 9. 17. Kevin MÉNALDO 92 FRA F 4. Paris (FRA) 04.07 1214
5.80 10. 19. Jacob BLANKENSHIP 94 USA F 3. Austin (USA) 28.03 1212
5.80 10. 19. Paweł WOJCIECHOWSKI 89 POL F 1. Bydgoszcz (POL) 14.06 1212
5.80 10. 19. Carlo PAECH 92 GER F 1. Zweibrücken (GER) 14.06 1212

Kirk

As far as I know, the All-Athletics rankings use the formula that the IAAF used to use. Basically, meets are given different weights based on the type of meet. Shawn is at a disadvantage because most collegiate meets, and even his National Championships, don't carry a ton of weight. Jumping well at Pan Ams and Worlds will carry a ton of weight and would move him way up.

Here's today's T&F News rankings for Men's PV:

Pl. (Pl.) Athlete Birth Nat. Score (Pr.Sc.)
1. (1.) Renaud LAVILLENIE 86 FRA 1428 (1428)
2. (2.) Konstantinos FILIPPIDIS 86 GRE 1356 (1356)
3. (3.) Raphael HOLZDEPPE 89 GER 1325 (1325)
4. (4.) Sam KENDRICKS 92 USA 1323 (1323)
5. (5.) Thiago BRAZ 93 BRA 1319 (1319)
6. (6.) Shawn BARBER 94 CAN 1318 (1318)
7. (7.) Paweł WOJCIECHOWSKI 89 POL 1307 (1307)
8. (8.) Aleksandr GRIPICH 86 RUS 1300 (1300)
9. (9.) Piotr LISEK 92 POL 1293 (1293)
10. (10.) Kevin MÉNALDO 92 FRA 1285 (1285)

Even after Shawn won the Pan Ams, and Thiago BRAZ no-heighted there, Shawn's still ranked below Thiago. [sigh]

I don't know what Shawn Barber needs to do to earn his rightful 2nd place ranking. Win the Silver at World's, I guess.

I'll concede the Gold to RL.

Kirk

I'm also surprised T&FN has Barber picked so low, he's definitely a favorite of mine to medal at Worlds.

Well, at least SkyBet recognizes Shawn's true potential in World's 2015. See: http://www.skybet.com/athletics/world-championships-mens/event/18203350

I'm not quite sure how to read this, but here's the odds they give him:

Mens Pole Vault

World Championships Mens | Saturday 22nd August 2015 | 11:40

Match
Match Bet Who will have Best Finishing Position? Both athletes must start the event for bets to stand.
Renaud Lavillenie 1/9
Shawn Barber 5/1

Outrights
Gold Medal Winner
Renaud Lavillenie 2/7
Shawnacy Barber 7/1
Raphael Marcel Holzdeppe 9/1
Thiago Braz Da Silva 12/1
Pawel Wojciechowski 25/1
Aleksandr Gripich 33/1
Konstadínos Filippidis 33/1
Augusto De Oliveira 40/1
Piotr Lisek 40/1
Sam Kendricks 40/1
Brad Walker 50/1
Robert Sobera 50/1
Kévin Menaldo 50/1
Jan Kudlicka 50/1
Michal Balner 50/1
Steven Lewis 100/1

Kirk

I'm not completely sure either but I'd suspect that it means bet 9 dollars on Lavillinie to win 1 or 1 on Shaun Barber to win 5 in the Match Bet. Oddsmakers thnk Barber is the best competition for Renauld, that tells me he's made his mark !

If you were a betting person, the Barber or Holzdeppe might be a good bet with the odds. If the weather was bad Kendricks at 40/1 would be a good bet as well.