Joint World Leader Ivan Ukhov of Russia clears the bar to reach the automatic qualifying mark in the men's High Jump at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (© Getty Images)
The men’s High Jump qualification did not include any huge surprises with the first eight athletes clearing the automatic qualifying height of 2.30m.
Having said that it has to be noted that the champions of two previous World championships did not make it to the final but neither one was a favourite for this competition.
Osaka World champion Bahamian Donald Thomas and Helsinki 2005 winner Yuriy Krimarenko of Ukraine both cleared 2.24 today. But Thomas was not near his 2007 form this or last season also having not cleared his opening height in the last two competitions prior to Berlin. Krimarenko won the European Team Championships in June with a season’s best 2.31 but was did not get close to that result since.
The qualification was topped by Osaka bronze medallist Kyriakos Ioannou who cleared a season’s best 2.30m having clean sheet during the competition as the only jumper in the field. Other favourites also made it through including world leading athletes American Andra Manson and Russians Ivan Ukhov and Yaroslav Rybakov. Kabelo Kgosiemang of Botswana and Mickael Hanany of France also set 2.30m season’s bests in the qualification.
Russian Andrey Tereshin was a notable non-qualifier with a 2.24m result today. The 26-year-old had cleared a 2.33m season’s best at the national championships.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
