A fiercely contested Pole Vault failed to make any changes at the head of the Decathlon.
Netherlands’ Pelle Rietveld remained alone in the B group when USA’s Chris Helwick decided he had had enough after clearing 4.40 with his first attempt and then making one failed try at 4.50.
Rietveld meanwhile cleared that height at his third attempt before having the bar moved up to 4.70, which he cleared at his first try. The next height – 4.80, proved too much, however, leaving Rietveld with 819 points for this event and a fourth place in the overall standing with 6318 points.
The competition leaders strengthened their positions in Group A, with Sysoyev clearing all heights at his first attempt up to 4.30 and then failing three times at 4.40, leaving Norman Muller and Andrei Krauchanka still in the competition. The latter reached his limit at 4.50, after a bad first attempt at 4.60 broke his rhythm and was followed by two more failed attempts at this height, leaving Muller to go on after clearing 4.60 to attempt 4.70, a height he cleared at his third attempt. This was to be his best clearance as he then went on to fail three times at 4.80.
The 819 points earned from the Pole Vault moved Muller closer to Aleksey Sysoyev, taking his total to 6583 from eight events, 52 points behind the Russian (6635) and 157 points behind overall leader Krauchanka (6740).
Four decathletes failed to start this event: Lukas Patera (CZE), Nicklas Wiberg (SWE), Franco Luigi Casiean (ITA) and Janis Skrastins (LAT).
