Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault


The men's pole vault at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 20 and 22 August at the Beijing National Stadium.
The qualifying standards were 5.70 m and 5.55 m .

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:
A new Olympic record was set during this competition.
DateEventAthleteHeightORWR
22 AugustFinal5.96 mOR

Summary

Eight men were still in the competition at 5.70m. Yevgeny Lukyanenko and Denys Yurchenko cleared it on their first attempt. Derek Miles and Dmitry Starodubtsev cleared on their second, but Miles had the advantage because Starodubtsev took two additional attempts at 5.45m. Danny Ecker made it on his last attempt. Yurchenko would take no more attempts. Igor Pavlov passed to 5.75m and Steven Hooker continued to pass having only taken one jump in the entire competition. Only Ecker and Pavlov chose to jump at 5.75m, neither of them making it. At 5.80m, Lukyanenko was the only one to make it on his first attempt to take the lead. Miles and Starodubtsev couldn't clear the bar, but Hooker made his final attempt. At 5.85m, neither man made their first two attempts but each made their final attempt to advance to 5.90m. Again neither could clear on their first two attempts. On his final attempt, Hooker peaked in front of the bar, but was able to jackknife over the bar to make the clearance. On his final attempt, Lukyanenko brushed the bar off giving Hooker the gold. But the show wasn't over as Hooker had the bar raised to for a new Olympic record. For the fourth height in a row, Hooker missed his first two attempts, but sailed cleanly over the bar on his final attempt. After 13 attempts in the competition, Hooker stood in the middle of the pit and flexed his muscles. More than eight years after the competition, Yurchenko's doping sample was retested and he was found to have dehydrochlormethyltestosterone in his system. Yurchenko was disqualified, giving Miles a delayed bronze medal.

Results

Qualifying round

Qualifying performance 5.75 or at least 12 best performers advance to the Final.
RankGroupAthleteNationality5.155.305.455.555.65ResultNotes
1BYevgeniy Lukyanenko---oo5.65
1AIgor Pavlov--o-o5.65
3ALeonid Andreev-oooxo5.65, =
3AJérôme Clavier-o-oxo5.65
3ARaphael Holzdeppe--ooxo5.65
3ADenys Yurchenko--o-xoDSQ
7BPrzemysław Czerwiński--oxoxo5.65
7AJan Kudličkaoo-xoxo5.65
9BDanny Ecker--xxo-xo5.65
9BDerek Miles--oxxoxo5.65
11ADmitry Starodubtsev-xo-xxoxo5.65
12BSteven Hooker----xxo5.65
13BGiuseppe Gibilisco--xooxxo5.65,
14BAlhaji Jeng---oxxx5.55
14BRomain Mesnil---oxxx5.55
16APaul Burgess--oxoxxx5.55
16BTim Lobinger--oxoxxx5.55
16AMaksym Mazuryk--oxoxxx5.55
16BDaichi Sawano--oxoxxx5.55
20AJeff Hartwig--oxxoxxx5.55
20ALiu Feiliang-ooxxoxxx5.55
22BOleksandr Korchmid--oxxx5.45
22BMikko Latvala--o-xxx5.45
24AJesper Fritz-xooxxx5.45
25BSpas Bukhalov--xo-xxx5.45
25BFábio Gomes da Silva--xoxxx5.45
25AGiovanni Lanaro--xoxxx5.45
28BAleksandr Averbukh--xxo-xxx5.45
28BKevin Rans-oxxoxxx5.45
30BŠtěpán Janáčekoo-xxx5.30
30BDominic Johnson-oxxx5.30
32AJurij Rovanxx-oxxx5.30
BLázaro Borges-xxx'
AGermán Chiaraviglio-xxx'
AIliyan Efremovxxx'
AKim Yoo-Suk-xxx'
ASteven Lewis--xxx'
ABrad Walker----xxx'

Final

RankNameNationality5.455.605.705.755.805.855.905.96ResultNotes
Steven Hookeroxxoxxoxxoxxo5.96
Yevgeny Lukyanenkoxxoooxxoxxx5.85
Derek Milesoxxoxoxxx5.70
Dmitry Starodubtsevxxoxxoxoxxx5.70
Danny Eckerxoxxoxxx5.70
Jérôme Clavierxooxxx5.60
Raphael Holzdeppeoxoxxx5.60
Igor Pavlovxxoxxx5.60
Jan Kudličkaoxxx5.45
Przemysław Czerwińskixoxxx5.45
Giuseppe Gibiliscoxxx
Leonid Andreevxxx
Denys Yurchenkoxxoxoo5.70