Yelena Isinbayeva tops 4.68m in Bydgoszcz (© © Adam Nurkiewicz / Mediasport)
The eighth edition of the indoor Pedro’s Cup meet in the Luczniczka arena in Bydgoszcz once again featured multiple international stars and world-class action. This time, it also proved successful for Polish athletes, who won two out of the programme’s three events.
Tomasz Majewski was the top shot putter with 21.05m and Lukasz Michalski took the men’s Pole Vault with 5.72m. The women’s vault ended with a victory for the meet’s top star Yelena Isinbayeva, although both she and Briton Holly Bleasdale cleared the same height of 4.68m.
The women’s Pole Vault was firmly expected to be the highlight of the evening, with a star-studded lineup highlighted by World record holder Isinbayeva, Britain’s rising star Bleasdale and the Polish stars Anna Rogowska and Monika Pyrek.
Isinbayeva waited until the bar reached 4.68m before entering the competition. Her first vault was a failure, but she followed up with a huge second-time clearance.
Going straight up to 4.80m, the Russian looked well able to scale that height. As it happened, each of her three attempts ended in a failure. The last one, however, on which Isinbayeva went soaring high above the bar only to brush it off with her chest on the way down, was a sign that she could be expected to near her World record before long.
Isinbayeva’s effort was sufficient for a win, although the young Briton ended the competition with the same height. Bleasdale also attempted 4.80m, but in contrast to the Russian, was never particularly close.
Former World champion Anna Rogowska, competing for the first time this year, evidently needed to shake off the cobwebs first. Her first two attempts at 4.52m were unsuccessful, but the third ended with a very impressive clearance. At the next height of 4.60m, Rogowska again started with a miss, then cleared by a big margin on her second attempt. This, though, was the best she could do, as 4.74m proved to be beyond her reach on this occasion. Her effort was enough to land her the third place.
The Cuban Yarisley Silva also cleared 4.60m to place fourth. Ex world record holder Svetlana Feofanova could do no better than 4.52m and finished down in fifth place.
Poland’s other star in the women's contest besides Rogowska, Monika Pyrek, did not have the best of days. Looking slow in her runup compared to her usual standard, the best she could do was a third-time clearance at 4.40m. Three attempts followed at 4.52m, none of them particularly close.
The men’s Pole Vault, a new feature on the programme, ended in a victory for the home favourite. The Bydgoszcz-born Michalski, fourth in last year’s World Championships, was the only vaulter to clear 5.72m. This he achieved in his third attempt, after previously clearing 5.40m and 5.60m.
Having secured the victory, Michalski went for an indoor personal best at 5.80m. None of his attempts ended in success, although the third was close enough to give hopes that the height may be within his reach this winter.
Jan Kudlicka and Steven Lewis, tied for first until the Pole’s winning vault, ended up in joint second place at 5.60m. Germany’s Karsten Dilla placed fourth, also with 5.60m.
World champion Pawel Wojciechowski, on the comeback trail after a serious training accident in December, could do no better than 5.20m, a height which equalled his season's best. He might have taken encouragement from the fact that on each of his attempts at 5.40m he was well above the bar, and it was only the technical issues that prevented him from clearing it.
Silver medalist from Daegu, Lazaro Borges, was another vaulter who had problems with his technique in Bydgoszcz. The Cuban ended the competition in fifth place with 5.40m, as each of the attempts at his opening height of 5.50m ended in his falling down on the bar.
The men’s Shot Put competition was expected to be a three-way battle between former World champions Christian Cantwell and Reese Hoffa and the current Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski. After two rounds, however, it was the unheralded Portuguese Marco Fortes who was in the lead with a national record 20.74m, ahead of Majewski’s 20.59m.
In the third round, however, the big Pole hit a big one of 21.05m. Hoffa had an even longer put, but was not able to stay in the circle.
Majewski’s distance withstood all attacks by his rivals during the remainder of the competition. Cantwell came close on his last throw, but his 20.96m was only good enough for second. The surprising Fortes ended with yet another Portuguese record of 20.77m to round off the top three. Hoffa, who fouled four of his six puts, could do no better than 20.61m, giving him third place.
Pawel Jackowski for the IAAF
