ATHENS, May 18 (Xinhua) — German athlete Bjorn Otto made the best world performance this year, clearing the bar at 5.83 meters during a street pole vault event hosted in central Athens on Saturday. Otto who won the silver medal during last year’s London Olympic Games participated with other seven athletes in the 1st Athens Street Pole Vault event at Zappeion hall organized by the Greek Association of Amateur Athletics (SEGAS). Greek athlete Costas Filippidis, who was holding the previous best world performance in 2013, clearing the bar at 5.82 meters a few days ago at Doha, ranked second on Saturday with 5.73 meters. Russian Anton Ivakin was third with 5.63 meters. “It was a very good battle and the crowd was so warm, as I expected,” Otto said after the event, as Athenians and tourists of all ages cheered. more

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sunday announced that two-time Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia will be an official ambassador of the 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Nanjing, China. The Russian pole vaulter will reprise her role as a YOG Ambassador, following her support and attendance of the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics, which saw over 3,600 elite young athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees compete while also taking part in a unique culture and education Program off the field of play. Speaking at an event held in Nanjing, where Isinbayeva enjoyed a tour of the Athletics Stadium and gave a master class to young athletes, the YOG Ambassador said: “I am very happy and honored to continue in my role as a YOG Ambassador for the Nanjing Games. The Youth Olympics are a great platform for young athletes, which I experienced first-hand at the Singapore. “As well as these Games preparing them for their future sports careers by exposing them to all that comes with a high-level international multi-sports event, such as living in a village and the media interest, I saw for myself how the athletes made the most of the opportunities to make friends with different athletes from different countries, to experience different cultures and to really live the YOG spirit.” The second edition of the Youth Olympics will be held from August 16 to 28. The program will feature 28 sports, including golf and rugby sevens, which will make their Olympic debut before their inclusion in the Rio 2016 Olympics. The YOG also feature unique disciplines such as 3-on-3 basketball and 5-a-side hockey, as well as mixed gender and mixed NOC events.  more

MOSCOW, May 18 (R-Sport) – Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva won her first competition of the season on Saturday by jumping 4.70 meters at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai. The 30-year-old skipped the winter season after a tough Olympic year in which she won bronze, and is using the event in China to prepare for the Moscow world athletics championships in August. The Russian posted the winning height – well below her world record of 5.06 meters – at the second attempt after skipping the opening eight heights. Up-and-coming American vaulter Mary Saxer took the silver with a personal best of 4.60 after wobbling at 4.50. Germany’s Silke Spiegelburg, the 2011 European indoor silver medalist, won bronze with a vault of 4.55 meters. Isinbayeva, setter of 28 world records, won gold at the Athens and Beijing Olympics but failed to defend her title in London, finishing third behind Jennifer Suhr of the United States and Cuba’s Yarisley Silva. She remains unbeaten in five appearances in Shanghai; this being her first since 2008.  more

SHANGHAI, May 16: Russian pole-vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva on Thursday said she was keen to claim her third Olympic gold but may quit if she flops at this year’s Moscow world championships. “About my retirement, it is going to be a difficult decision, and you know it is difficult to say right now what I am going to do after the world championships in Moscow. It will depend on my performance there,” she said. “I still would like to have my third gold medal. If I would have done it in London, for sure I could stop after Moscow. But for the moment I don’t know,” Isinbayeva added.—AFP

A week ago Konstadinos Filippidis was soaring to the best height in the world this year when he won the pole vault at the Diamond League in Doha with 5.82m. Now the people of Greece have a chance to watch their new hero close up and personal in a special event tomorrow which could see the rankings lists needing rewriting. Filippidis will be the star of the show at the Athens Street Pole Vault where he faces Germany’s Bjorn Otto, the Olympic and European silver medallist.  It is the first time Greece has staged an event such as this one outside of the track arena, moving to the square in Zappeio which will mean a good crowd with both locals and tourists. There is a field of eight for this European Permit event and it includes Russia’s Anton Ivakin, who won the World Junior title in Moncton in 2010. more

Start List

• 1 Filippidis, Kostas GRE 26 NOV 1986
• 2 Otto, Björn GER 16 OCT 1977
• 3 Gruber, Hendrik GER 28 SEP 1986
• 4 Kucheryanu, Sergey RUS 30 JUN 1985
• 5 Burya, Artem RUS 11 APR 1986
• 6 Ivakin, Anton RUS 27 JUN 1991
• 7 Stylianou, Nikandros CYP 22 AUG 1989
• 8 Chrysanthopoulos, Theodoros GRE 21 JUN 1993

POTTSTOWN. PA — Germantown Academy’s Mark Miller cleared 14-0 in pole vault a week and a half ago at the Eighth Annual New Balance Henderson Track and Field Invitational meet at West Chester Henderson and that helped him establish a goal for Wednesday’s PAISAA (Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association) state meet at Hill School. “I came here just hoping to get over 14-0 again,” said Miller. The GA junior didn’t get quite what he expected. What he did get was a height of 14-4, a gold medal and a meet record. The previous standard was 13-0 set in 2010. Miller didn’t come in until 13-0 and he cleared that height on his second attempt. He made 13-6 and 14-0.5 on first attempts and then just missed on his first try at 14-4. Miller’s second attempt at 14-4 was a pretty jump that had room to spare. Next was 14-7 — a height he was able to tease but still elude the Patriot ace. “I’m still not comfortable with coming in at 13-0,” said Miller, who will study in Bursa, Turkey this summer. “But I started at 13-0 at the Henderson meet and I did 14-0 there. I’m actually surprised I was able to jump as high as I did today. I have had a lot of school work and there was a science fair last night. “My jump today set a new a school record too. The old record was 14-0 set in 1990. After I did 13-0 today, I thought to myself — let’s end this season right. Still, making 14-4 was a bit of a shock. Miller’s Germantown Academy teammate Jared Whitman took second in pole vault at 12-6.  more

Russian pole-vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva on Thursday said she was keen to claim her third Olympic gold but may quit if she flops at this year’s Moscow world championships. Isinbayeva, the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympic champion who finished third at last year’s London Games, told reporters in Shanghai that “everything will depend” on her performance on home soil in August. “About my retirement, it is going to be a difficult decision, and you know it is difficult to say right now what I am going to do after the world championships in Moscow. It will depend on my performance there,” she said. “I still would like to have my third gold medal. If I would have done it in London, for sure I could stop after Moscow. But for the moment I don’t know,” Isinbayeva added, ahead of Saturday’s Diamond League meet. “I am just thinking what to do. Everything will depend on the Moscow world championships.” Last week, former Soviet pole-vault great Sergei Bubka predicted that the outdoor world record-holder will end her career in Moscow, rather than push on to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Isinbayeva, 30, had planned to retire after London, but she extended her career after she failed to become the first woman in history to win three successive Olympic crowns. Although Isinbayeva has set 30 world records, indoors and outdoors, she took only bronze at last year’s London Olympics and failed to win a medal at either of the last two world championships. more

On July 19th 2013, the Stadium Louis II will be happy to welcome the Olympic Champion and French Record Holder Renaud Lavillenie for what will be the 10th leg of the IAAF Diamond League Circuit. Last night H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco paid a visit to track at the Louis II Stadium where Lavillenie currently training to make the Frenchman’s participation at the Herculis meeting official. a few weeks before the World Championships in Moscow IAAF World Athletics Club Lavillenie confirmed during an interview that « we feel good in Monaco ». A three-time winner of the IAAF Diamond League, Lavillenie has been training in the Principality with the national Pole Vault team. He will return in July for what is scheduled to be an exciting competition with the two other medalists frkm last year’s London Olympic Games, Björn Otto and Raphael Holzdeppe of Germany.

How is your camp in Monaco going ?

Everything is doing well, the conditions are good. This is the time period where we start to prepare the competitions. Everybody will get to the heart of the matter within two weeks. We are not in the last adjustments but we are starting to prepare the whole thing.

How do you prepare this season with the World Championships in target?

The “Worlds” in Moscow are the main goal of the year, but they are not really present in my mind.  I am thinking more about the first two or three competitions, even of the end of the preparation. The more you project yourself, the more chances you have to miss out the event because you focus less on what is happening before. The important thing for me is the Interclubs (National French Clubs competition) with the 110m Hurdles and the Long Jump on my program. That is how I go forward, how I am building.

In addition, you made official your participation in Herculis on July 19th. What does this meeting represent?

First, it is a prestigious meeting. Also, it is a pleasure to come jumping here because the conditions (the track, the stadium, the weather) are good. That is what we are looking for. Then, the meeting always takes place in a period very interesting sportingly, a few weeks before the international championships. We know the stadium very well for coming here in camp quite often. And everytime, we jumped well in Monaco. Yes, we feel good in here.

2012 was fantastic with the Olympic title in London. Getting back to the track was not too difficult?

Not at all,  I have no problem regarding getting motivated. I love my sport, the pole vault, and I would have not done any other event. And I still have things to win. There is always something to do and I ambition to go get something in Rio (2016).

What can we wish you for this year?

A World Champion title ! This is what I am training for. There are many things around, but if I have to select one, it would be this one ! I don’t want to jinx, but I think I am on the good way, at least to defend my chances.  more

Monaco’s famous Louis II Stadium will see the return of France’s reigning Olympic and European Pole Vault champion, and French record holder, Renaud Lavillenie for the Herculis 2013 meeting, the 10th leg of this year’s IAAF Diamond League, on 19 July. Lavillenie is currently training in the Principality and the meeting organisers announced on Tuesday (14) that he will face his two closest rivals from 2012, Bjorn Otto and Raphael Holdzeppe. The German pair ran Lavillenie close on several occasions during last summer but finished with the silver and bronze medals respectively at both the London 2012 Olympic Games and 2012 European Athletics Championships. Otto also had to settle for second place behind Lavillenie at the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships in March. On Monday night, H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco paid a visit the Louis II Stadium track to encourage Lavillenie for the summer ahead and talk with him about his preparations. At the Herculis 2011 meeting, Lavillenie won with a height of 5.90m and this year he will have in his sights the meeting record of 6.00m, which was set by Russia’s Maksim Tarasov back in 1999. Lavillenie has been synonymous with the IAAF Diamond League since its inception in 2010 and has won the Diamond Race for his event all three years. He also holds the record for Diamond Race victories, the only man to win at 13 meetings, a tally equalled on the women’s side by US sprinters Allyson Felix and Carmelita Jeter. Lavillenie also holds the distinction of having accumulated the most IAAF Diamond League points by a male athlete, with 64 points. Jamaica’s Kaliese Spencer holds that honour for the women with 72 points.  more

Three years ago, when trainee pole vaulter Praveen Kumar moved to Patiala from his native Sonepat hoping to train at the National Institute of Sports (NIS), he found himself hunting desperately for a roof over his head. Praveen was not part of the national camp, and the Rs 8,000 that he needed for food and a place to stay was much more than what his father, a retired BSF constable, could afford.To his rescue came Gurjant Singh, himself a national level pole vaulter in the early nineties. He offered Praveen a room at his nursery of teak trees at New Dashmesh Nagar, provisions and cooking gas. Everything was free — the only condition Gurjant imposed was that Praveen must focus on becoming a national champion.Last month, Praveen won gold at the 17th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships. Gurjant celebrated by announcing a cash reward of Rs 20,000 for the first occupant of his “nursery for athletes”.Gurjant’s nursery now has 13 rooms fitted with air coolers, six bathrooms, two kitchens and a mini gym. Sixteen village boys — including decathletes, middle-distance runners and quartermilers — live on the premises, which have effectively become a sports hostel. All the boys have shown passion and promise, but lack the means to pursue their sporting dreams.”When Praveen requested me to help him find cheap accommodation in Patiala, I could only think of putting him up in my nursery, which had an office room, a gardener’s room and a storage room. As more and more athletes requested me for support, I used the money I earned by selling teak saplings to construct additional rooms. I have now placed my nursery business on the back burner because I have experienced the struggle of a young athlete and cannot turn down a request for help,” Gurjant said. more