Vlasic charges ahead to 2.05, barely misses World Indoor record
Wednesday 15 February 2006
Banská Bystrica, Slovakia - The seemingly unflappable and definitely unstoppable Blanka Vlasic continued her marvellous indoor season with a national record 2.05m performance to highlight the 13th Europa Shopping Center High Jump meeting.
“Now, I’ve really scared myself”
The Croatian athlete established two new national records during the evening, with a 2.03m on the way to her final height. Only two performers in indoor athletics history have jumped higher - Kajsa Bergqvist of Sweden, the new indoor World record holder at 2.08m*, and Germany’s Heike Henkel, who for fourteen years held the record of 2.07 until ten days ago.
Perhaps the most telling aspect about Vlasic’s feat was in her final attempt at a would-be World Indoor record of 2.09, one which failed only because she nudged the bar off on the way down. The height was definitely there, even if the position was slightly off.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t show you a World record tonight,” the tall jumper told the packed audience in the Stiavnicky Sport Hall, but she promised to return to complete her as-yet unfinished work.
Vlasic bulldozed through the heights in a determined manner, with first-attempt successes at 1.84, 1.90, 1.96, 1.99, 2.03 NR and 2.05 NR.
“That’s not really my style,” she said laughingly of her extreme perfection. “Now, I’ve really scared myself. But these heights are not totally new to me (after other competitions this season). Now I am beginning to have a feeling for them.”
Her jump at 2.05 was a powerful statement, as she appeared to have five or six centimetres of margin. She collapsed emotionally to the floor after the leap, still in tears as she came to the sideline to confer with her coach, Bojan Marinovic.
When asked about that particular attempt afterwards, she rolled her dark eyes and, with modesty failing her momentarily, replied, “Let’s just say I felt that the bar wasn’t too close to me.”
Of her attempts at 2.09, she admitted that “after the first two jumps, I didn’t think I had anything to offer. But I just relaxed and everything came together.” Ironically, with no video replay available in the cozy sports hall, Vlasic herself was the only one who hadn’t seen that oh-so-close leap.
Needing competitive motivation
An important catalyst for Vlasic tonight may have been the 1.99 Czech national record of Barbora Laláková, which erased the six-year-old 1.98 jump of Zuzana Hlavonová. It prevented the competition from sinking into a one-jumper affair too early. “I like to have someone pushing me,” said the Croatian. “It means I cannot fall asleep.”
This year’s indoor season has provided the stage for Vlasic’s strong comeback after being sidelined all of the 2005 season due to a thyroid operation and a subsequent knee injury suffered in the rush to become fit quickly. Her next competition comes twelve days from now in Gent and will serve as her final preparation for Moscow and potentially a clash with Bergqvist.
President Gašparoviè presents the medals
The number “thirteen” figured prominently in the script for this year’s competition. It was the 13th edition of the meeting, and on the thirteenth of February (Monday), meeting director Alfons Juck learned that poster girl Bergqvist had sprained her ankle in a final training session on Sunday and was forced to cancel her appearance. This news hit particularly hard because it came a week after the other Swedish high jump star, Athens gold medallist Stefan Holm, had to withdraw because of a case of bronchitis.
But in some instances, the number “thirteen” brings good luck, and with Vlasic on hand to provide the fireworks, the evening was an astounding success. It was without a doubt the event of the day in Slovakia, attracting no less than the President of the Republic, Ivan Gašparoviè, who presented the medals.
Despite Bergqvist’s absence, her coach, Yannick Tregaro, still made the trip to Slovakia to accompany Sweden’s other high jump luminary, Emma Green, the Helsinki bronze medallist whose 1.96 indoor PB tonight placed third.
Of Vlasic’s exhibition, Tregaro was understandably impressed. “Her jumping was amazing. With her height (of 1.92m), it is quite unusual to be so powerful and so fast. She definitely has the potential to jump extremely high.”
MEN – Not to be upstaged, Sokolovskiy leaps 2.36m
The men were faced with a stiff challenge to rival the women’s competition which had taken place first, but the fourteen who took the floor were certainly up to the task.
Fighting his way back after a lead-off miss at 2.15 was Ukraine’s Andrey Sokolovskiy, the former world indoor silver medallist, who won the competition at a PB 2.36 before failing twice at 2.39 and once at 2.41 to end the evening.
Sokolovskiy and Linus Thörnblad were waging a fight all the way through 2.30, which the Swede reached without a miss. At 2.32, Sokolovskiy cleared on his second jump, but Thörnblad, a former European junior bronze medallist, stayed alive by clearing on his third, though giving up his evening-long advantage to the Ukrainian.
A similar situation ensued at 2.34, at which the Ukrainian succeeded on his first try, with the Swede needing two leaps to notch a PB.
Onward the pair went to 2.36. For Thörnblad, who turns 21 only days before the Moscow Championships, it was too much to ask, while Sokolovskiy solved the height on his second try. Even with his futile attempts, Thörnblad proved astoundingly efficient with his 1.80m frame - one cm shorter than the “legendarily short” Stefan Holm - and his compact, nine-step standing-start approach.
Calling for an NR 2.39, the Ukrainian had one outstanding attempt before missing a second time, and then closing out the evening at 2.41.
Why 2.41, he was asked? “For me, 2.41 is a ‘dream jump’”, he replied.
Kyriacos Ioannou of Cyprus, the current Mediterranean Games champion, finished third in a NR 2.30m. The slender 21-year-old will soon turn his attention away from the indoor season to begin preparations for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in mid-March.
Ed Gordon for the IAAF
*subject to ratfication
RESULTS:
MEN:
- Sokolovskiy (UKR) 2.36 PB [2.15/2 – 2.20 – 2.25 – 2.28 – 2.30 – 2.32/2 – 2.34 – 2.36/2 – 2.39/xxp – 2.41/x]
- Thörnblad (SWE) 2.34 PB [2.15 – 2.20 – 2.25 – 2.28 – 2.30 – 2.32/3 – 2.34/2 – 2.36/xxx]
- Ioannou (CYP) 2.30 NR [2.15 – 2.20 – 2.25/2 – 2.28/p - 2.30/2 – 2.32/xxx]
4=. Ilyichev (RUS) and Harris (USA) 2.25 [PB for Ilyichev] - Torro (FIN) 2.20
7=. Boateng (CAN) and Horák (SVK) 2.20 - Shapoval (UKR) 2.20
- Prezelj (SLO) 2.20
11=. Balcar (CZE) and Benko (SVK) 2.15 - Spolén (SWE) 2.15
- Kabelka (SVK) 2.15.
WOMEN:
- Vlasic (CRO) 2.05 NR [1.84 – 1.90 – 1.96 – 1.99 – 2.03 NR – 2.05 NR – 2.09/xxx]
- Laláková (CZE) 1.99 NR [1.80 – 1.84 – 1.87 – 1.90 – 1.93 – 1.96/3 – 1.99 – 2.01/xxx]
- Green (SWE) 1.96 PB
- Skotnik (FRA) 1.93;
Dubnová (CZE) 1.93
Kovalenko (UKR) and Straková (CZE) 1.90;
Glavatskikh (RUS) 1.87