RESULTS

PORTLAND - A record-breaking night in both the men’s and women’s pole vault kicked off the 2016 World Indoor Championships in style Thursday in Portland, Oregon, as France’s Renaud Lavillenie and USA’s Jenn Suhr jumped to championship records to punctuate their gold medals. 

For Lavillenie, his evening concluded with three straight misses, but that was hardly disappointing as the now two-time World champion was taking aim at a steep 6.17m World record— a mark that would’ve just eclipsed his own 6.16m mark. The reigning Olympic champ never came close there— in a scary moment, the mat actually saved him just barely from a hard landing in the box— but his 6.02 clearance marked the second meet record to go down after Suhr’s 4.90 jump led off the record-breaking festivities.  

In a night dedicated entirely to one event, the pole vault proved worthy of a stage to itself. A boisterous crowd of more than 6,900 was thrilled to take it all in. 

Lavillenie was utterly untouchable here as he returned to the top of the pole vault world after a disappointing third place finish in Beijing at the outdoor championships last summer. The 2012 Olympic champion actually had to overcome a knee injury early in the winter, but you wouldn’t know it with the spectacular season he had. The Frenchman cleared 6.00 on three occasions, and he’ll enter the outdoor season as the favorite to don gold once again in Rio. 

While there was no drama for Lavillenie in his path to gold on Thursday, his second World record attempt was a bit frightening as it nearly saw him land in the pole vault box. Luckily, the 29-year-old caught just enough of the mat to avoid any problems and collect his second career World indoor title. With gold already secure, he was able to laugh off the mishap.

Man, nobody has more fun vaulting than @airlavillenie ... gotta love what you do!!! pic.twitter.com/yudXnOYCsh

— Andreas Behm (@CoachSanAndreas) March 18, 2016

Air Lavillenie on his gold, and the scary fall on a WR attempt:

 

“I don’t know how to describe it. When I felt my foot was blocked by the bar and I knew that it was over 6.00m, I know I had a lot of time to fall and to adjust. Also, a lot of time to see the box and be scared by that. But I’m able to manage it,” Lavillenie said.

While the gap between Lavillenie and the rest of the field was vast, American Sam Kendricks was the next closest man with his 5.80 clearance that earned him a first international medal. When asked if the home court advantage, and the fact that he had jumped on this runway last week, gave him an advantage, the US champion offered up a unique analogy. 

“If you climb to the top of a mountain, do you know what’s on the other side? There were no maps before and you yourself would have to see it. You could not paint a picture unless you’ve crossed that mountain before, there’s this huge barrier with its lack of a medal. This expectation of your country looking at you. And having covered that mountain to see what lies on the other side, to be here, to speak as a vaulter that’s come from the bottom ranks of America, that’s very special to me,” an almost poetic Kendricks quipped.

Silver medalist Sam Kendricks waxes poetic with the media:



After leaping to a 5.90 PR last weekend, it was clear Kendricks was familiar with the other side of the mountain, and he delivered on that knowledge here. Two steeper mountains stand in the 23-year-old’s way going forward, however— an Olympic medal, and that 6.00m barrier that only 19 men have crossed.

“I find that to concrete yourself in history as a pole vaulter, you need to jump 6.00 meters. But I will not rush myself towards that eventuality. 5.90 is something that I was so happy to jump the other day…6.00m is a process because the real estate gets very expensive up there around that 19 ft. 8 in. mark.”

Poland’s Piotr Lisek was the bronze medalist tonight with his 5.75 clearance, while 2015 World outdoor champion Shawn Barber finished out of the medals in a tie for fourth. 

Jenn Suhr's 4.90 Championship Record Leads 1-2 American Finish

 
The women’s pole vault brought its “A+” game on Thursday to the raucous Oregon Convention Center, as four women cleared 4.80m to the delight of the Portland crowd, marking the first time indoors that a female quartet have jumped that high in one competition.

And on this night for the record books, the American ladies tacked on even more history with a sweep of the top two spots on the podium, as Jenn Suhr leapt a championship record 4.90 to take home gold, and Sandi Morris nabbed silver behind her. This marks the first time in World indoor history that the Americans have taken the first two spots on the podium.  

Not a bad way to kick off the first US-hosted global championships since 1987. 

New championship record for @JennSuhr! She clears 4.90!! #Portland2016 pic.twitter.com/AoSL5BGsc2

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) March 18, 2016

Suhr cleared that championship record in her fourth jump, and her night was done after that once her compatriot Morris failed at 4.95. Morris and Suhr went 1-2 at last week’s US Championships here at the Oregon Convention Center, with tonight’s result reversing the order. For the 23-year-old Morris, who cleared 4.85 on Thursday, her silver marks the first international hardware of her young career.

Suhr did not record a miss on the night, passing on a 5.04 World record attempt that would’ve earned her a $50,000 bonus if she had cleared it. But for the 34-year-old reigning Olympic champion, she felt it better to not get too greedy with a title defense looming in Rio this summer. A slight calf injury has bothered Suhr of late, so her night was done. 

“I started the season healthy, and I wanted to end it healthy,” she told a near-capacity stadium after her victory.

.@JennSuhr stays with her mark of 4.90m, a championship record and gold medal at #Portland2016! pic.twitter.com/rFG1B93u0u

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) March 18, 2016

Suhr set the 5.03m World record earlier this season, and will roll into outdoors with tremendous momentum.

Jenn Suhr after taking first indoor World title:



Sandi Morris gets her first medal: 

 

Bronze medalist Ekaterini Stefandini of Greece and fourth place finisher Nicole Buchler of Switzerland helped to make Friday’s event the deepest pole vault competition in women’s history, as both went 4.80 before they each bowed out at 4.90.