What's up with pole vaulting this year?

[lovetorun]

It seems that pole vaulting heights are mediocre this year. 19 foot and above jumps used to be common, but this year only a few are jumping that high. And with Isa losing and failing to jump 16 feet this year what's going on with the pole vault?

[lonewolf]

I dunno, seems like last year we were wondering the same thing about the Long Jump :?

[polevaultpower]

Re: What's up with pole vaulting this year?

It seems that pole vaulting heights are mediocre this year. 19 foot and above jumps used to be common, but this year only a few are jumping that high. And with Isa losing and failing to jump 16 feet this year what's going on with the pole vault?

Umm let's see... the pegs are shorter, the crossbar ends are rounder, the time limit on the runway is shorter, you can't steady the bar with your hand anymore, the $$ in it is decreasing, and the drug testing is tougher.

Internationally, so far 7 men have cleared 5.80 outdoors (9 indoors). It seems like most of the European meets have had crappy weather. In the US, the men didn't have many outdoor meets before USAs, and now they are in Europe.

[lonewolf]

Re: What's up with pole vaulting this year?

[Umm let's see... the pegs are shorter, the crossbar ends are rounder, the time limit on the runway is shorter, you can't steady the bar with your hand anymore, the $$ in it is decreasing, and the drug testing is tougher.

Other than that???

[polevaultpower]

Re: What's up with pole vaulting this year?

[Umm let's see... the pegs are shorter, the crossbar ends are rounder, the time limit on the runway is shorter, you can't steady the bar with your hand anymore, the $$ in it is decreasing, and the drug testing is tougher.

Other than that???

Umm maybe they don't like this year's Nike kit? :lol:

[lovetorun]

Polevaultpower...I'm probably showing my ignorance (I'm a distance runner, not a pole vaulter) but when did all those changes happen...or are you just being tongue in cheek?

[polevaultpower]

Polevaultpower...I'm probably showing my ignorance (I'm a distance runner, not a pole vaulter) but when did all those changes happen...or are you just being tongue in cheek?

Within the past... I dunno 5-6 years (excluding drug testing)? 5.80 jumps have not been a dime a dozen since then.

[americantrackfan]

Re: What's up with pole vaulting this year?

It seems that pole vaulting heights are mediocre this year. 19 foot and above jumps used to be common, but this year only a few are jumping that high. And with Isa losing and failing to jump 16 feet this year what's going on with the pole vault?

Isa is injured. So is Stuzinski.

[Marlow]

Polevaultpower...I'm probably showing my ignorance (I'm a distance runner, not a pole vaulter) but when did all those changes happen...or are you just being tongue in cheek?

Within the past... I dunno 5-6 years (excluding drug testing)? 5.80 jumps have not been a dime a dozen since then.

The key is that there are much fewer lucky jumps any more. Brushes that used to stay up now come off. Shorter pegs, rounded crossbar ends and stricter Volz calls have taken much of the fun out of it methinks. Keeping it up there after a brush is an art!

[dukehjsteve]

Can someone provide definitive info on this "rounded crossbar ends" subject ? What was it before ? What is it now ? How is it different from the HJ ?

[Marlow]

Can someone provide definitive info on this "rounded crossbar ends" subject ? What was it before ? What is it now ? How is it different from the HJ ?

The end of the PV crossbar used to be like the HJ bar, square. Now it looks like a flat tire - round on the top, flat on the bottom. If the crossbar is rotated by a jumper brushing it, now it falls off. There used to be a good chance it would stay up because it would simply rotate to another flat side.

[meskind]

How else was Bubka going to keep all of his records?

[polevaultpower]

Polevaultpower...I'm probably showing my ignorance (I'm a distance runner, not a pole vaulter) but when did all those changes happen...or are you just being tongue in cheek?

Within the past... I dunno 5-6 years (excluding drug testing)? 5.80 jumps have not been a dime a dozen since then.

[Dave]

Polevaultpower...I'm probably showing my ignorance (I'm a distance runner, not a pole vaulter) but when did all those changes happen...or are you just being tongue in cheek?

Within the past... I dunno 5-6 years (excluding drug testing)? 5.80 jumps have not been a dime a dozen since then.

On the other hand, we seem to see a reasonable number of 6.00 jumps. I will not spell out all of the names out of respect for the athletes, but Walker, Hooker, Burgess, the young Frenchman, and the Russian all seem fully capable of popping 6.0+ or 5.70 on any given day with decent weather.

[dukehjsteve]

Can someone provide definitive info on this "rounded crossbar ends" subject ? What was it before ? What is it now ? How is it different from the HJ ?

The end of the PV crossbar used to be like the HJ bar, square. Now it looks like a flat tire - round on the top, flat on the bottom. If the crossbar is rotated by a jumper brushing it, now it falls off. There used to be a good chance it would stay up because it would simply rotate to another flat side.

Unless I am losing my mind, your "flat tire" description also matches HJ bars. The entire HJ bar is round, but has "flat tire" sleeves at each end which can be calibrated if and when needed so that the entire bar sits solidly on the standards.