Vlasic building momentum

The world champion from Osaka has surpassed the benchmark two-metre level for the third time in three competitions during this indoor season, and it marked the twelfth time that Vlasic has jumped 2.00 or higher indoors.  Tuesday's effort equaled the eighth-best indoor jump ever. 

Earlier on Tuesday at a press conference, the 23-year-old Croatian had admitted that “my best jumps seems always to come after 2.00.  I don’t know why.  Perhaps I don’t really get motivated until then.”  Certainly the motivation came tonight, particularly on her explosive 2.04 jump. 

The Stiavnicky Sport Hall floor has been a favourite of Vlasic ever since her first appearance here two years ago.  On that memorable evening, she jumped her still-PB 2.05 to move into fourth place on the all-time list, and she ended the evening with a very close effort at a would-be world record height of 2.09. 

“I’m happy with the result tonight (Tuesday),” she told the capacity crowd.  “I jumped only three days ago [in Arnstadt], and my legs are really empty.  But I’ll keep coming back here again and again until I get that World record I promised you two years ago.”  A wildly cheering crowd, obviously understanding some English, interrupted Vlasic’s final words while meeting director Alfons Juck was providing a Slovak translation. 

Vlasic and her trainer admitted that there are still technical inconsistencies at this point in the season.  This was evidenced by the fact that Vlasic started at 1.85 and jumped at every height, without her typical en route pass. 

“I wanted to use all of these jumps for adjustments as the competition went along,” she said.  It was similar to her jumping plan in Arnstadt which began at the same 1.85 height and continued without a break, but it was not for the same reason.   “In Arnstadt, I needed the extra jumps to stay warm because the competition there lasted 3½ hours.” 

Vlasic’s first miss on the night came at 2.00, but the necessary correction was quick and absolute as her second attempt had plenty of space.  She was even more resolute in attacking the crossbar after a leadoff miss at 2.04, and her success on her second try was a truly powerful one.  It sent an emotional surge through her mind that she could only release by doing a rather lengthy dance in the pit as the background music hit a crescendo. 

This also marked the high point of the evening for the world champion, as none of her three jumps at 2.06 were close. 

Yekaterina Savchenko of Russia, fourth at the Moscow indoor championships, finished second in a season best of 1.97, while Kazakh jumper Marina Aitova likewise improved her 2008 mark to 1.94 in placing third.  Fourth place went to Iva Strakova of the Czech Republic, also at 1.94, while four jumpers tied for fifth at 1.90. 

Stefan Holm kept his Banksá Bystrica record clean with a 2.34 win in the men’s division.  But it was no means a walk-over.  American Jesse Williams had the Olympic champion pressed firmly to the wall with his first-attempt 2.32, a personal best, and Holm was forced to win it at 2.34. 

Williams, who had been erratic for much of the evening, produced a powerful clearance, with three or four centimetres to spare, and Holm, who was jumping at the end of the order, responded with a miss.  Were it not for the fact that Dmytro Demyanyuk of Ukraine and Cuba’s Victor Moya were still alive, the Swede would undoubtedly have passed his remaining attempts.  But that was not his strategy.

The Olympic champion has been in many pressure situations before, and with only Williams still remaining with him in the competition, he cleared 2.34 on his opening attempt to settle the contest, as the American was not able to extend his best.   Holm closed out the evening with three unsuccessful attempts at a would-be world-leading 2.38. 

“Banská Bystrica is really a special place for me,” he told the audience afterwards.  “I love you all here.”  Later, he reflected on his achievement.  “I’ve been here four times and I’ve won each time.  When you do something like this, you really feel attached to a competition and its people.” 

Tonight’s (Tuesday) win was probably the toughest of the four.  “It’s the first time that I haven’t been leading throughout the competition,” he admitted, glancing toward Williams who was sitting next to him at the post-competition banquet.  “But I must also admit that I’m really tired after four competitions in the past eleven days.” 

With only about four weeks left until Valencia, Holm outlined what he needed to do to win another world indoor title.  “I need a little bit more speed, a bit more power,” he critiqued.  “Tonight, I really wanted to jump 2.38,” he admitted, saying that he thinks that it could take a 2.40 to win at the World Indoor Championships. 

Earlier in the day, the subject of his possible retirement was mentioned in a press conference.  “I really haven’t thought much about what will happen after the Olympic final in mid-August,” he replied.  “But I know that if I win the gold medal again, it will make my decision much easier.  There’s nothing better than going out on the top.” 

This central Slovakian town provided a worthwhile stop on the athletics circuit for the group of thirteen, as eight jumpers either equaled or exceeded their season best this evening. 

Finishing in third was a relative newcomer to the international high jumping scene, Ukrainian Dmytro Demyanyuk, who equaled his indoor best with 2.30, as Helsinki medallist Victor Moya of Cuba was fourth at the same height. 

Athens medallist Jaroslav Bába showed signs that he is gaining his old form back after a broken foot in 2006 as he jumped a season-best 2.28 to take fifth ahead of former World Champion Vyacheslav Voronin of Russia, who also had his year best at the same height. 

A surprise late entry was Dalton Grant, who was added to the start list only on Sunday.  Nearing the end of his 42nd year, the ageless Briton, whose international career goes back to the first World Indoor Championships in 1987, equaled a world master’s indoor record with 2.10, and came extremely close on his third attempt at 2.15.  The veteran jumper recently returned from a training sojourn in Ethiopia and seems to have no intention of hanging up the spikes just yet. 

By: Sunday O. Ajani