Nico Weiler set a Championship record to win the Boys’ Pole Vault competition with the biggest winning margin in the history of the event.
In becoming the first German boy to win the title, Weiler cleared 5.26m to improve by one centimetre on the previous competition best set by China’s Yang Yansheng in Marrakech two years ago.
With no US entrants and Japan’s Yu Miura failing to qualify for the final, Weiler was the overwhelming favourite. But even if those other athletes had made it to the final, they would have been hard-pressed to beat the 17-year-old.
He entered the competition at 4.95m – the height which saw off all the other medallists. Before that, Britain’s Nick Cruchley had stolen the lead with his first-time clearance at 4.75m but he took three tries at 4.85m, while Spain’s Manuel Concepcion and Japan’s Shota Doi both cleared it on their first attempt to share the silver.
After his opening height, Weiler skipped straight to the competition record of 5.26m and cleared it on his third try. He then set the bar to a would-be German Youth Record of 5.43m, but it was not to be.
JM
