Report09 Feb 2013


Holly Bleasdale vaults world-leading 4.77m in Sheffield

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Holly Bleasdale at the 2013 British Athletics European Trials and UK Championships in Sheffield (© Getty Images)

Great Britain’s Holly Bleasdale soared to the top of the 2013 Pole Vault world list with a clearance of 4.77m at the British Athletics European Trials and UK Championships in Sheffield on Saturday (9).

The 21-year-old then failed with three attempts at a British record of 4.90m, a height only Russia’s World record holder Yelena Isinbayeva has bettered, but despite being unsuccessful this time, she is confident that the height is within her grasp after changes ove5r the winter to her technique.

"When I jumped 4.77m I knew there was a lot more even though I am still not quite clicking everything together like in training,'' said Bleasdale, who has switched coaches and now splits her time between Arizona and Cardiff.

"Once I do that I will easily be clearing bars like that. It was the biggest pole I have ever used and I was so tired I thought I was going to land in the box, but my coach told me what I was doing wrong and so I will know for next time."

Bleasdale won bronze at the IAAF World Indoor Championships last year, and was also sixth at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and is optimistic of doing even better at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Gothenburg next month.

"I'm pretty confident I can go there and win gold. I'm very positive. I've jumped against most of the girls who will be there. Isinbayeva is not doing it and neither is Silke (Spiegelburg). There are a couple of girls who can jump 4.60 or 4.70m but if I go there and do 4.80m I think that will be enough to win.''

Fast times for sprinters Dasaolu and Philip

There were also impressive performances in the men's and women's 60m on Saturday, with James Dasaolu and Asha Philip both setting personal bests on their way to victory.

Dasaolu, 25, won in 6.58 and Philip clocked 7.15."This was all about securing my place on the team (for the European Athletics Indoor Championships) and I'm happy to get a PB as well doing it,'' commented Dasaolu.

"I was a bit worried after my semi-final when I didn't get a good start, but I knew that as long as I got my start right I'd have a really good chance.''

Philip, 22, whose time was also a stadium record, said: "I'm so happy that I've managed to time my championships perfectly. I sometimes peak in the semis and this time I said I was going to relax, then go hard in the final, and that's what I did.

"I've been working my socks off because I've got such a bad history of injuries, breaking my leg and so on, so it feels great to have come out and run as fast as I did,” Added the 2’07 IAAF World Youth Championships 100m gold medallist.

A correspondent for the IAAF

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