Donetsk Pole Vault Stars 2005
12-February-2005
Donetsk, Ukraine
Unless indicated otherwise, all photos courtesy of Event Organizers and IAAF. © Yaroslav Bozhkov. All rights reserved. Unauthorized republication strictly prohibited.
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Organizer Sergey Bubka was everywhere. So was the meet's poster girl, Yelena Isinbayeva.
Bubka with Ukrainian vaulter Denys Yurchenko.
From the vendors: Fruit, sandwiches, pickles, pastries, beer, brandy and vodka. (photo TRACK PROFILE).
1972 Olympic 100/200 meter champion Valeriy Borzov during the opening ceremonies.
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Cyprus national record holder Anna Fitidou (l) managed 4.00, finishing 11th, while Ukrainian junior record holder Natalya Kushch nailed 4.40, two centimeters shy of her PB. She finished ninth.
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Nursing injury, reigning world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Giuseppe Gibilisco (l) couldn't go beyond his opening 5.40 and finished last. 21-year-old Pole Przemyslaw Czerwinski equalled his indoor PB 5.50, and finished ninth.
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Aleksandr Averbukh (l) and Lars Borgeling struggled, topping out at just 5.50, tying for tenth.
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Fan favorite Stacy Dragila topped out at 4.50, finishing seventh.
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Off day. Olympic silver medallist Toby Stevenson, over 5.50 (l), assesses his three misses at 5.70. He finished eighth.
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Gao Shuying (l) left the competition after 4.40 while 22-year-old Russian Natalya Belinskaya equalled her 4.50 PB
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Belorussian Igor Alekseev's (l) third-attempt 5.60 was a PB. Jeff Hartwig, who scaled 6 meters here in 2002, was sixth this year with a 5.60 best.
While the entire field was already jumping at 4.20, Isinbayeva chilled until opening at 4.50.
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Tatyana Polnova (l) scaled a seasonal best 4.60 to tie for fourth. Monika Pyrek was pleased with a first-attempt 4.65, equalling her indoor best.
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Brad Walker nailed 5.70 on his second try, finishing fourth. Ruslan Yeremenko arrived as the world leader, but only had one successful clearance --5.60-- and finished fifth.
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Great day for Germany's Carolina Hingst. First she improved to 4.50, then nailed 4.60 with her first effort.
Among the VIPs: Viktor Yanukovych, the loser of December's national presidential election. From Donetsk, the former prime minister received an overwhelmingly warm welcome.
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Ukrainian hope Denys Yurchenko hit 5.80 on his second try, took a stab and 5.85 then missed twice at 5.90, leaving him hungry for more.
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Pyrek again, upping her indoor best to 4.70.
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Runners-Up - Olympic fourth place finisher Igor Pavlov of Russia was the only vaulter to clear 5.80 on the first try. Olympic bronze medallist Anna Rogowska managed to stay slightly ahead of compatriot Pyrek.
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Rogowska was thrilled with a first-attempt 4.70, and ecstatic with her second-attempt 4.75, her third national record in as many weeks.
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Derek Miles scored a minor upset with a first-attempt 5.85 PB and world-leader.
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Miles' previous PB, 5.82, dated back to 2002.
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After a first-attempt run-through, Isinbayeva made her world indoor record 4.87 appear effortless.
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