The mark of this competition's quality was that for the first time in history we had three women over 4.82m in the same event. The surprise was that it took a jump-off for the World Pole Vault record holder Yelena Isinbayeva to secure her fourth successive World Athletics Final title.
It seemed we would follow the usual script of Isinbayeva dominance with the Russian World and Olympic champion beginning her work at 4.67m, skipping three heights (4.40, 4.50, 4.60) which all the rest of her opponents deemed necessary to attempt. But the bar fell on Isinbayeva's first approach, which would be a costly mistake. ‘Normal service’ was resumed on her second try and equally confident first assaults also took her clear at 4.77 and 4.82.
The Czech Republic’s surprise World silver medallist Katerina Badurova continued her low key post Osaka season and exited at Isinbayeva’s opening height.
Svetlana Feofanova, the former World record holder, who had taken the bronze in Japan, was a little tentative with first time misses at 4.60 and 4.67 but was well clear at 4.70m, a season’s best, which left her as one of a trio of high soaring vaulters still in the game.
The third member of this triumvirate was Pole Monika Pyrek, the European silver medallist last summer, who was having a perfect day vaulting through 4.40, 4.60, 4.72, the latter just three centimetres below her personal best. A first time failure at 4.77 – a significant failure as we would later discover – was followed by another perfect flight path over the bar at 4.82m. It was a PB, of course, but also just one centimetre short of the Polish record.
All three women cleared 4.82m but with Feofanova taking that height on her second try to her opponents’ first time successes she was back in third. Isinbayeva and Pyrek were at that point tied for the lead with equally balanced jump cards, their respective failures at 4.67 and 4.77, their only 'x' at that point. And that’s how the competition stood with all three vaulting exponents being unsuccessful three-times at their next heights (Pyrek and Feofanova at 4.87 and Isinbayeva at 4.92).
To separate the two leaders, a jump off was called at 4.87, and it was at this point that Isinbayeva found her form, clearing the height with ease, something which Pyrek could not manage.
Chris Turner for the IAAF
