| Lavillenie, the Olympic and European Champion, was clear favourite to win having produced the top six jumps of the season leading into Moscow. An omen came when his younger brother Valentin was the only jumper to fail the opening height in the final. Lavillenie the elder was never able to clear a height himself at the first attempt, and suffered accordingly. At 5.82, Holdzeppe, with great gymnastic ability and technical excellence, had a first time clearance. He was followed by Walker, who grazed the bar with his stomach, and Otto, looking as good as Holdzeppe. For Walker it was his best championship effort since winning in Osaka 2007. Lavillenie then produced the highest jump of the day with his 5.82. Not technically as good as Holdzeppe, but an outlandish piece of jumping that would have been successful at six metres. Mohr became the third German to clear 5.82 with his final effort. At 5.89, Holdzeppe continued his clean card with a first-time clearance, and Lavillenie again was untidy and needed three attempts. Neither man could clear 5.96, so the gold went to Germany, not France. Afterwards there were complaints about the shortness of the run up which was across the fan at the finishing end of the stadium. Otto started his vault from the track and was seen having to move the women’s 400m finalists out of his way after they had finished their race. |
