Seagren and Kjell Isaksson (SWE) had been the best vaulters of the
year, but the Swede was injured by Munich, and failed to clear a height
in the qualifying round. He was affected in part by the IAAF’s decision
to ban the “Cata-poles” used by Seagren and Isaksson, among others,
on the grounds that the pole had not been available to all competitors
for 12 months. This left quite a few vaulters at a disadvantage (partly
psychological) at a time when equipment should not have been a prime
factor. Renato Dionisi (ITA), bronze medallist in the ’71 Europeans
was injured, and, along with Steve Smith (USA), who was flustered by
the equipment ruling, failed to qualify.
Four men cleared 5.30 or better, as compared to six four years earlier.
At 5.40, only three men were left, with Seagren leading from Nordwig,
and Johnson third. Johnson, the fastest man on the runway (9.5 speed
for 100y), failed to clear, leaving the two veterans to duel. Nordwig
cleared 5.45 first time, and Seagren was well over on his third attempt,
but came down on the bar. Nordwig then improved his Olympic record
to 5.50 with his final clearance before failing three times at 5.56. The
GDR star dealt best with the cold conditions, with unhelpful swirling
winds, and might well have won even if Seagren “et al” had been
allowed to use their preferred poles.
Qualification - Friday 01.09
Mark 5.10m 10 Athletes passed the Mark and next 4 Best with 5.00m advanced to Final.
East Germany
United States
West Germany
Canada
Sweden
France
Poland
Greece
Finland
Italy
Australia
Great Britain
Senegal
