Posted: February 26, 2005

Athletics: Burgess 13th To Join Pole Vault's Six-Meter Club

By Bob Ramsak, Track Profile

(c) 2004 Track Profile all rights reserved TrackProfile.com

Paul Burgess became the 13th man to join the pole vault's exclusive six-meter [19-8.75] club at a competition in Perth, Australia, yesterday (25-Feb).

Competing in his seventh competition of the year, the 25-year-old Australian, who began the year with a 5.77 [18-11.25] personal best, cleared 6.00 on his first attempt, according to a report on the IAAF website by Mike Hurst of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph. The 2002 Commonwealth Games silver medallist has improved markedly this season, first raising his PB to 5.91 [19-4.75] on 15-January, and improving again to 5.95 [19-6.25] on 11-February.

According to the report, conditions were less than ideal, and Burgess, a 2004 Olympic finalist, didn't have particularly high expectations.

"There were thunderstorms and the conditions were really weird," Burgess told Hurst. "The sea breeze that usually arrives, didn't. I thought, oh well, I'll try to squeeze out maybe 5.80m and I warmed up not feeling so well.”

"But I opened at 5.70 [18-8.5] and cleared that first time," he said, "then went to 5.85 [19-2.5] and cleared that first time by 16cm [6.25 inches]. I put it up to 6.00m and cleared it first time by about 10cm [four inches], I didn't even get close to touching it."

His effort however was not a national record. Dmitri Markov scaled 6.05 [19-10.25] to win the 2001 World title in Edmonton, Canada.

Burgess competes next at the Australian national championships on Friday.

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