Olympic Games Men's Pole Vault Previews

[rainbowgirl28]

Bib Name Country "Season Best" "Personal Best"
1046 HOOKER Steven AUS 5.72 6.06
1172 TSIVONCHYK Stanislau BLR 5.60 5.60
1218 DA SILVA Fabio BRA 5.70 5.80
1365 YANG Yansheng CHN 5.65 5.75
1453 HORVAT Ivan CRO 5.60 5.60
1464 BORGES Lazaro CUB 5.72 5.90
1518 KUDLICKA Jan CZE 5.73 5.73
1611 BYCHKOV Igor ESP 5.56 5.60
1719 BERGIUS Jere FIN 5.72 5.72
1758 LAVILLENIE Renaud FRA 5.97 6.03
1763 MESNIL Romain FRA 5.72 5.95
1817 LEWIS Steven GBR 5.82 5.82
1917 OTTO Bjorn GER 5.92 5.92
1915 MOHR Malte GER 5.91 5.91
1904 HOLZDEPPE Raphael GER 5.82 5.82
1980 FILIPPIDIS Konstadinos GRE 5.75 5.75
2243 YAMAMOTO Seito JPN 5.60 5.60
2267 FILIPPOV Nikita KAZ 5.60 5.60
2357 KIM Yoo Suk KOR 5.62 5.66
2386 ARENTS Mareks LAT 5.60 5.60
2663 MICHALSKI Lukasz POL 5.72 5.85
2676 WOJCIECHOWSKI Pawel POL 5.62 5.91
2713 MAIA Edi POR 5.64 5.64
2833 STARODUBTSEV Dmitry RUS 5.90 5.90
2817 LUKYANENKO Evgeniy RUS 5.73 6.01
2815 KUCHERYANU Sergey RUS 5.72 5.81
3001 JENG Alhaji SWE 5.72 5.81
3139 MAZURYK Maksym UKR 5.72 5.88
3151 YURCHENKO Denys UKR 5.72 5.85
3259 WALKER Brad USA 5.90 6.04
3238 MILES Derek USA 5.60 5.85
3251 SCOTT Jeremy USA 5.60 5.82
Total number of entries: 32

[fishman4god]

How many max can go to finals?

[rainbowgirl28]

How many max can go to finals?

I think it's usually ~12-15. I don't think it is set in stone, if there are ties at the lower places they tend to be a little more flexible than the NCAA.

[fishman4god]

OK thanks, It could be really tight at the top if most jump close to their PR's. It is the olympics lots of nerves for sure.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/OLY12/News/kin ... x?id=66149


Men's Pole Vault - PREVIEW

Renaud Lavillenie has medals from the indoor and outdoor editions of the World Championships and European Championships, but the one medal missing from his collection is an Olympic one.

The Frenchman made his breakthrough the year after the Beijing Games, winning the 2009 European Indoor title and taking bronze at the World Championships in Berlin that year. He followed it with European gold in 2010, successfully defended his European Indoor title in 2011 and scooped another World Championships bronze last year in Daegu.

This year he is undefeated in major championships, winning World Indoor gold in Istanbul and winning a second European gold in Helsinki. Lavillenie often produces his best at the big events too – he set a national record of 6.03m at last year's European Indoor Championships and his best mark of this season came when winning in Helsinki.

But could defending champion Steve Hooker spring a surprise? The Australian's gold in Beijing was followed by World Championship gold in 2009 and the World Indoor title in 2010. But over the past 12 months he has suffered a case of 'the yips', losing his confidence in vaulting.

In his last competition before the Games, however, Hooker enjoyed a confidence-boosting 5.72m clearance in Szczecin – his best outdoor mark of the summer. Hooker has previously pulled off a surprise victory off the back of less-than-ideal preparation. When he won the World title in Berlin, he was carrying a serious injury but made it through to the final where he entered the competition in the closing stages and took just two jumps to land the gold.

At 34 years old, Björn Otto has this year found the form of his life. The German has been a journeyman of the Pole Vault over the past 15 years, but during that time has never made an Olympic team. At this year's Games, however, he is one of the medal favourites.

He has cleared 5.92m three times in 2012 – twice indoors, once outdoors – and has taken silver medals at the two major championships this year, the World Indoors and the European Championships. So will it be third time lucky for Otto in London?

His team-mate Malte Mohr is also a solid bet for a medal. The World Indoor silver medallist has set PBs indoors (5.87m) and outdoors (5.91m) this year and beat Otto at the German Championships.

USA's Brad Walker went to the Beijing Olympics as one of the favourites, but went out in qualifying after failing to clear a height. He is still a threat though, and five years after winning the World Championships in Osaka, Walker was on the podium again at this year's World Indoors. He boasts a season's best of 5.90m, which is the kind of height with which medals will be won.

Britain's Steve Lewis could be coming into form at just the right time. He beat a high-quality field at the Kusocinski Memorial, his last competition before the Games, to set a national record of 5.82m. Like Walker, Lewis also no-heighted in qualifying at the last Olympics, so will be keen to make amends.

Last year's surprise World Champion Pawel Wojciechowski has been struggling for form this year. Cuba's Lázaro Borges added 15 centimetres to his PB to take an unexpected silver medal in Daegu last year, but he hasn't been in the same kind of form this season and would do well to make the final.

Other contenders include defending Olympic silver medallist Yevgeniy Lukyanenko, European bronze medallist Raphael Holzdeppe and French veteran Romain Mesnil.

Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

[fishman4god]

Yep could be really close at the top!

[hardflex]

For Wed qualifying, Forecast is for a chance of rain, slightly warmer than for the Women, same winds.

For the Finals Sunny, 75 degrees.


Anybody know what the Qualifying bar progressions are?

[fishman4god]

Well if they can change runway direction.....I hope they do!

[rainbowgirl28]

I suspect it is impossible for a lot of reasons to change the runway direction. The guys will just have to deal with it like the girls did.

[fishman4god]

Well I am sure it will be fine, they are after all the best there is..........I guess they are mere mortals..........but then again

[hardflex]

I'll say 5.50 in the cold and rain makes the finals.

Better weather for the Finals but still fighting the winds Lots of guys get spit, lot's of blowthrus 5.70 first attempt gets a medal 580 first attempt wins Gold.

Lavilline
Borges
Walker
in no particular order