In an most confident bit of strategy, worldrecord holder Svetlana Feofanova decided to wait until the last possible moment before taking her first jump.
With eight jumpers being sought for tomorrow's final, the Russian took note of the fact that only seven vaulters besides her remained as the jumps came to a close at 4.40. Then, as the other jumpers waited for Feofanova to clear 4.45--which she quickly did--it was all over.
Following her into the final with a 4.40 jump was her compatriot, weeklong world-record holder Yelena Isinbayeva, along with the Polish pair of Monika Pyrek, the Birmingham bronze medallist, and Anna Rogowska. French record holder Vanessa Boslak also was part of the group at 4.40, as was Jillian Schwartz of the US, who actually outjumped her teammate, Sydney champion and former world-record holder, Stacy Dragila (4.35).
With a first-attempt clearance of 4.30, Maebashi champion Nastja Ryshich of Germany separated herself from four others at that height to complete the list of finalists.
Among those eliminated tonight were Iceland's Thorey Elisdottir (yearly best of 4.50) and Dana Cervantes of Spain (yearly best of 4.46).
