Earlier today, Matthew wrote that Stacy Dragila had set a new world record in today's Grand Prix meet in Ostrava. Martin corrected that to "Outdoor WR."
I'm wondering whether, given current IAAF categories, there was any world record at all. Certainly, Stacy's 4.83 was the best outdoor vault, ever. However, when the IAAF changed the world record rule to make THE World Record the best mark, indoor or outdoor, I think I remember that they kept the category of "World Indoor Record" (for instances where this mark was inferior to the outdoor record), but didn't create a new category of "World Outdoor Record" (for instances where this mark was inferior to the indoor record). Whether Dragila set a new World Outdoor Record today, or just a "world outdoor best," might be of special interest to her, since the Grand Prix circuit offers a substantial bonus for world record performances. Maybe someone (Bob Hersh?) can set us straight on this. Cheers, at least for Stacy!! Great comeback, after being overshadowed by the Russian trio last year. >Outdoor WR. >> Pole vault >> 1. Stacy Dragila (U.S.) 4.83 - world record >> 2. Edda Elisdottir Thorey (Iceland) 4.40 >> 3. Monika Pyrek (Poland) 4.40 THE World Record progression since 2001, as I have it-- 4.63 Stacy Dragila (USA) 2001-02-02 New York 4.64 Svetlana Feofanova (RUS) 2001-02-11 Dortmund 4.66 Stacy Dragila (USA) 2001-02-17 Pocatello 4.70 Stacy Dragila (USA) 2001-02-17 Pocatello 4.70 Stacy Dragila (USA) 2001-04-27 Pocatello 4.71 Stacy Dragila (USA) 2001-06-09 Palo Alto 4.81 Stacy Dragila (USA) 2001-06-09 Palo Alto 4.82 Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) 2003-07-13 Gateshead 4.83 Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) 2004-02-15 Donetsk 4.85 Svetlana Feofanova (RUS) 2004-02-22 Athina 4.86 Svetlana Feofanova (RUS) 2004-03-06 Budapest BTW, Yanks. Dragila's 4.83m converts to 14'10". Feofanova's 4.86m converts to 15'11 1/4". Too bad, that Stacy didn't go for 16 feet, a mark that would be a new World Record, however categorized, and a goal for the women's vault that even I, as an ex-Kansan, could appreciate. For the rest of the world, the next mile-post (meter-post?) would have to wait for 5.00m; maybe still a bit in the future.
