It was not business as usual in the women’s Pole vault at the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, as USA’s Sandi Morris stepped out of the shadow of her rival, Katerina Stefanidi, to win the event on Day 3 of the competition, ending the two-year winning streak of the Greek athlete in the process.
It was a dramatic encounter that saw Morris refusing to play the second fiddle as she was the only woman on the field to clear the height of 4.95m, which is a new World Lead (WL) and Championship Record (CR).
The London 2017 Silver medallist had easily cleared 4.50m, 4.60m and 4.75m at first attempts, and soared past 4.80m on her third attempt. She hit the bar at 4.85m and passed on the distance, moving to 4.90m which she cleared on her second try.
After securing her GOLD medal, the American requested for the bar to be raised to 5.04m and made three attempts on the height but failed. A successful clearance would have erased Jenn Suhr’s World Indoor Record which stands at 5.02m.
Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) Anzhelika Sidorova turned out to be a fierce competitor on the evening, kick-starting her campaign with the bar set at 4.60m, which she easily cleared. She went on to register successful jumps over 4.70m, 4.80m and 4.85m respectively. She failed her first two attempts at 4.90m, but found her way past the stumbling block on her third try, which is a Personal Best (PB) for the Russian.
It was not to be Stefanidi’s night as the reigning Olympic and World outdoor champion wasn’t in her usual element and had to settle for Bronze with her mark of 4.80m, the exact mark she set to win Bronze in Portland two years ago. Rio 2016 Bronze medallist, New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney finished 4th with an Area Indoor Record of 4.75m.
Another WL was set in the men’s Triple Jump final, which saw Rio 2016 Silver medallist Will Claye dominating the field with a WL of 17.43m in the fourth round, overtaking former Olympic and World Champion Nelson Evora on the standings, and dethroning Brazil’s Almir Dos Santos as World Leader.
Evora had initially topped the standings in Birmingham with his National Indoor Record of 17.40m, which he secured in the third round.
Claye had recorded modest efforts of 16.89m, 16.86m and 16.76m in his first three jumps, but his fourth attempt was the game changer, which boosted the confidence of the London 2017 Silver medallist in no small measure. He went on to jump 17.35m and 17.31m in his last two attempts.
Dos Santos won Silver with his PB of 17.41m gotten in the fifth round, while Evora scooped the Bronze medal. Defending champion Bin Dong finished a distant 8th with a Season’s Best (SB) of 16.84m.
