World Champs - Mens Pole Vault Preview

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Men's Pole Vault - PREVIEW


The men’s Pole Vault is shaping up to be an enthralling head-to-head between Olympic champion Steve Hooker and the ever-improving Renaud Lavillenie.

Hooker started 2009 where he left off last year with three consecutive six-metre competitions indoors – the only man other than the great Sergey Bubka to achieve such a feat. Although the Australian is yet to clear six metres outdoors this year, he has won four of his six competitions, including victories in Lausanne and London.

Despite being the Olympic and Commonwealth champion, Hooker’s best result to date at an outdoor World Championships is ninth from 2007. Should everything go to plan, he could become the first Australian since 2001 to win world Pole Vault gold.

Over the past 12 months, young upstart Lavillenie has vaulted from relative obscurity to pole vaulting stardom after setting a French national record of 6.01m, the current world-leading mark. Before this year, his PB was 5.70m. But not only has he improved significantly, Lavillenie has superb championship mettle as well. He equalled his indoor PB of 5.81m to win the European indoor title earlier this year, then won the European Team Championships with his 6.01m PB.

On outdoor head-to-heads this year, Hooker and Lavillenie are one a piece, but including the indoor season then Hooker has the slight edge, 2-1. If both get to Berlin in top form, they could push each other to six-metre territory.

But then there is no guarantee that one of those two will definitely win – especially if defending champion Brad Walker has anything to say about it. The American record-holder (6.04m) has had an extremely quiet, albeit solid, season after struggling with injuries over the winter. His first competition of the year was the US Trials, which he won with 5.75m. After no-heighting in London, Walker finished second in Monaco with a season’s best of 5.80m.

Joining Walker on the US team is former Olympic silver medallist Toby Stevenson, Olympic fourth-placer Derek Miles, and 6’ 10” (2.08m) vaulter Jeremy Scott, all of whom have a best of 5.75m this year and are genuine medal contenders.

Although German vaulters churn out impressive results year after year, they are yet to win a World title. Will the extra boost of home-crowd advantage help this year’s leading Germans – Alexander Straub, Malte Mohr and Björn Otto – challenge for the gold medal?

Reigning world silver medallist Romain Mesnil is still going strong at 32 and has broken 5.80m three times this year. He is the only man this season to have notched up two victories over team-mate Lavillenie. If he can manage it again, he could land his first ever global title and France could get two men on the podium.

With World indoor champion Yevgeniy Lukyanenko showing no real form since the early summer, it leaves Russia with no real contenders. However, Ukraine’s former World junior champion Maksim Mazuryk could challenge for a medal, while outside bets include Lukasz Michalski of Poland, Steven Lewis of Great Britain and Paul Burgess of Australia.

Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF