Israel’s Jillian Schwartz ended the pole vault competition at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul in 11th place on Sunday.The 32-year-old, who booked her ticket to this summer’s London Olympics by clearing 4.52 meters in January, jumped 4.45m with her third attempt on Sunday before failing three times at 4.55m.Defending Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva won her first major gold medal in over three years on Sunday, needing just two clearances at 4.70 meters and 4.80 to secure the title.The Russian failed at an indoor world record of 5.02 but still got the crowd to raise the roof when she ended her competition with a celebratory back flip on the mat.France’s Vanessa Boslak was second on countback from Britain’s Holly Bleasdale after both cleared 4.70.“I was waiting for this victory like a mother is waiting to give birth to her baby,” Isinbayeva told reporters.“It was very important for me. The last three years showed me how important it is for me to win. I am so happy as if it was the first time,” added the 29- year-old, whose struggles with form caused her to take a break from the sport in 2010.

full story

UK–The 20-year-old achieved a best clearance of 4.70m, the same as French silver medallist Vanessa Boslak but had to settle for third on countback while Russian world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva took gold with 4.80m.But Bleasdale, the European Under-23 champion, arrived at the Atakoy Athletics Arena third on the all-time list, having set a new personal best of 4.87m in January, with high hopes of dethroning Isinbayeva and topping the podium.And while van Commenee was among the first to congratulate Bleasdale, she admitted a small part of her was left wondering what might have been.

Continue reading →

ISTANBUL (AP) — Yelena Isinbayeva ended a three-year gold medal drought by winning the pole vault Sunday at the world indoor championships with just two jumps.The Russian set a world record of 16 feet, 5¼ inches last month and failed to improve that after clinching gold. It was Isinbayeva’s fourth indoor world title but her first in four years. Over the same period, she also lost her world outdoor title.”I was waiting for this victory like a mother is waiting to give birth to her baby,” Isinbayeva said. “The last three years showed me how important it is for me to win.”She won the title at the Atakoy Arena with a height of 15-9, which she cleared with the ease she has so often shown during her career.While others struggled, she covered herself in towels and waited.”I am not really surprised that I only needed two attempts, two jumps to win,” Isinbayeva said after winning Russia’s only gold of the championships.She now goes for the defense of the most precious medal of all — the Olympic gold. She will be seeking her third straight title in London, an unprecedented feat. No woman in track and field has managed to win three individual Olympic golds in three successive games.

Continue reading →

GRINNELL, Iowa — Senior pole vaulter Abby Schaffer of the Moravian College women’s indoor track & field team finished as the runner-up in the pole vault at a height of 4.05 meters (13 feet, 3 ½ inches) at the 2012 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships being hosted by Grinnell College Friday.

With her runner-up finish, Schaffer earns All-America honors for the fifth time in her career and the third time competing for the Greyhounds, and she earned Moravian eight points in the team standings. Schaffer was the defending champion in the event, and she was the runner-up to Moravian’s Anna Heim ’10 in 2010 when Schaffer was a student-athlete at Widener University.

Continue reading →

york, Pennsyvania –Dallastown pole vaulter Jared Allison keeps raising the bar. Allison, who took up the event for the first time two years ago as a sophomore, vaulted 14 feet, 3 inches last season and won the York-Adams League title. He recently bettered that performance by more than a foot in winning the Pennsylvania State Track and Field Coaches Association Indoor Meet on the last Saturday of February with a vault of 15-6. This coming weekend, Allison will compete in the prestigious New Balance Nationals at the Armory Track and Field Center in New York City.  Continue reading →

Oxford, Mississippi –As the 2012 track and field season nears, varsity athletes get back into the swing of things, and new athletes are put to the challenge of figuring out which field events might be their forte.This season, pole vaulting has added six new members to prospective jumpers, and has two veteran jumpers to lead the pack.Coach Scott Kendricks says that he is impressed by how well some of the newer members are doing, and hopes to see them in competition.For the girls, Mollie Beth Ott is the star pole vaulter. Ott says that she is hoping to jump higher than last year, and is aiming for the 9’6”-10’ range.

Continue reading →

RANCHO BERNARDO — Peter Chapman of Murrieta Valley High was not at his best, but he had more than enough to win the invitational pole vault competiton at the Bronco Invitational on Saturday at Rancho Bernardo High. Chapman, who injured his ankle in a dual meet against Lakeside earlier in the week, cleared 15 feet, 7 inches to finish first on a warm but windy day in San Diego. Ryan Zacchilli, from the host school, was second at 15-1. “Today went pretty well,” Chapman said. “I turned my ankle on Thursday so when I came out today, wasn’t sure how I would feel. I just taped it up and went for it.” Chapman said he decided to come in at a lower height, 14-7, than he would have if he was feeling 100 percent. He cleared 15-7 on his second attempt and concluded his day with three unsuccessful attempts at 16-2.

Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/blogsnew/sports/calvarsity/prep-track-chapman-vaults-to-title-at-bronco-invitational/article_79d1dc21-2a02-54c6-81ee-b58cccdc55d3.html#ixzz1oomaIo56

Normal, Illinois –Normal Community High School’s Brittany Hull was among more than 50 national champions crowned on the first day of the USATF National Youth Indoor Track & Field Championships at Horton Field House on Saturday.

Hull won the young women’s pole vault with a clearance of 12 feet, 5.5 inches. Central Catholic’s Sarah Bell placed third at 11-11.75.

Read more: http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/high-school/track-and-field/nchs-hull-wins-national-youth-title-in-pole-vault/article_84e45394-6b3d-11e1-9c5d-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1ool4B2Qt

DANVILLE — Danville High’s Cirron Clark set a school and DHS Fieldhouse record in the pole vault with a attempt of 14 feet, 7 inches to win the event at the DHS Indoor Open on Saturday.

full story