July 2 – The medals to be awarded during the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics will be stored in secure vaults at the Tower of London after being handed over tonight and placed in the same place as where the Crown Jewels are kept.
The gold, silver and bronze medals which will be awarded to the athletes at Games-times, will be securely locked away in the famous vaults in the Jewel House after being delivered to them by Rio Tinto, the mining company responsible for the production of the precious metals for London 2012.
They will remain there until they are needed for the Victory Ceremonies.
“To the athletes competing to win these medals they are as precious as the Crown Jewels, so it is fitting that they should be stored for safe keeping in the same iconic location,” said Hugh Robertson, the Sport and Olympics Minister.
In total, 4,700 medals have been produced and will be awarded in 805 Victory Ceremonies that will take place in over 30 London 2012 venues across the UK
The medals were handed over during a ceremonial event here at which the final medals arrived and were taken down to the vaults by Rio Tinto chairman, Jan du Plessis (pictured below), and Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman.   more

Helsinki, Finland – Bathed in warm sunshine – in stark contrast to the previous day – the Helsinki crowd was treated to a world leading Pole Vault jump by Renaud Lavillenie and a fine display of quality hurdling by Russia’s Sergey Shubenkov.
In fabulous duel, Lavillenie prevails
Lavillenie won a memorable Pole Vault – after an opening failure at 5.60m – with a world leading 5.97m, pushed all the way by 34-year-old German, Björn Otto who cleared a personal best 5.92m. Germans filled the next two places, Ralph Holzdeppe taking bronze (5.77m) and Malte Mohr fourth.
“I wasn’t expecting to jump so high,” admitted Lavillenie. “It was very long, it was very hard for me.
“It was difficult at the beginning, but I felt better and better during the competition. A lot of jumps were into a head-wind and that is not good for us.  more

CALGARY, Alberta — Shawn Barber, a Kingwood Park (Houston, Texas) senior and Canadian/American dual citizen who has had an outstanding year in the pole vault, was fourth Friday in his bid to make the Canadian Olympic team in the event.
Barber cleared just 15-11 during the Canadian Trials final. Not only would he have had to place in the top three to make the team, but also have cleared the Olympic ‘A’ (18-9.25) or ‘B’ (18-4.5) standards. However, Barber’s international opportunities will continue as he is listed for the Canadian team for the World Junior Championships in Barcelona, July 10-15, according to athletics.ca, where he will be a medal contender.
Barber’s 2012 has been quite the odyssey, beginning with a shocking 17-6.5 at the Texas A&M Indoor Classic in January where he beat his previous PR by a foot and became #2 all-time on the indoor list (#3 presently). He won the Simplot Games at 17-2.75, then placed second at the New Balance Nationals Indoor.
Outdoors, his best again came early with a US#1 17-8 (#11 all-time) in a low-key relay meet in Texas in March. He racked up several major titles, including the Texas Relays (17-6.5), Texas 4A state meet (16-0), Great Southwest (17-5.5), and New Balance Nationals Outdoor (16-4). The same weekend as NBNO, he also competed at USATF Junior Nationals (even though he wasn’t trying to represent Team USA) and was sixth (his only outdoor loss).    more

Renaud Lavillenie fired out a broadside at Olympic pole vault contenders by defending his European title on Sunday with a soaring best of 5.97 metres, a height that cemented his world number one ranking. Lavillenie entered the competition at 5.60m – with seven of the 12-strong field already out, needing two efforts to pass that before opting out until 5.77m, which he sailed over. He vaulted 5.82 at the third time of asking in a duel of gamemanship with German Bjorn Otto, who passed at 5.87, which Lavillenie cleared in his first effort. Both vaulters were then successful at 5.92m, Lavillenie upping the ante when he sailed over a world lead of 5.97m in brilliant sunshine and still conditions at the Olympic Stadium. Otto passed but failed his three efforts at 6.02m, as did Lavillenie.  more