Hamackova tops event full of surprises
Just like news, there are two kinds of surprises, good ones and bad ones. For favored world record holder Stacy Dragila the surprise came in the second category. For Pavla Hamackova the surprise (and the news) was definitely all good. In an eminently successful year in which she had already raised the world record no fewer than four times, Dragila had rated as a strong favorite. Indeed, those who knew she had vaulted 4.70 without touching the bar in practice here on Wednesday certainly rated her as a prohibitive frontrunner. Hamackova, on the other hand, came to town with a seasonal best of only 4.43, a mark which had been bettered by four other vaulters.
Hamackova got the gold, Dragila got nothing.
Things started out normally enough, with half the small eight-woman field passing at the opening height, 4.10. The surprise of the second round was the failure of former world record holder Anzhela Balakhonova of Ukraine to clear a height. At 4.35, Dragila and Hamackova cleared on initial attempts to share 1st, with second American Kellie Suttle also clearing on her first try to move into the No. 3 position. At 4.43, Russia's Svetlana Feofonova, who had played a bold game from the start by passing the first two heights, surprised again by electing to pass. Dragila surprised somewhat by missing on her first attempt, but is renowned for a tendency to miss at lower settings. The surprises continued as Suttle went clear on her first try to move into the lead. It was a lead she would carry through to the next height, as it wasn't until the second set of tries that Dragila and Hamackova went over, the latter equaling her lifetime best.
At 4.51, a new meet-record height, Feofonava put the pressure on by leading off with a clearance. Dragila missed, but Suttle reclaimed a share of the lead with her first-time make. Then Hamackova missed. On second attempts, Dragila got back on track with a clearance and the Czech raised her lifetime best.
Feofonova made another bold move at 4.56, electing to pass again. The two Americans missed and that put Hamackova back into the spotlight. After having missed her first attempt at the two previous heights she responded brilliantly, clearing her third personal best of the evening to rousing cheers. The American pair failed to clear on their two remaining attempts, leaving Dragila out of the medals. With the bar raised to 4.61, Feofanova re-entered the fray, but the elevated height proved too much for her or Hamackova and the Czech closed out as the first day's most unlikely field-event winner.
Hamackova didn't raise her personal expectations following her surprise victory, saying, "I would ask the Czech fans not to expect too much of me in the summer as I prefer the indoor circuit."
World record holder Dragila, of course, has big plans for the outdoor world championships. Of her disappointment here she simply said, "I never felt I got in a good enough rhythm."
