Howard Leaps 7-8 1/2 at Toronto to Equal U.S. Indoor Record

Jimmy Howard equaled his American indoor record of 7 feet 8 1/2 inches in the high jump, but Billy Olson flopped in his bid to better his own world record in the pole vault Friday night in the Toronto Invitatational Indoor track and field meet at Toronto.

Howard, a former Texas A&M; star, failed in three attempts at 7-10. The world indoor record is 7-10, held by Dietmar Mogenburg of West Germany.

The pole vault was won by 1980 Olympic champion Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz, a native of Poland who has defected to West Germany. The winning height was 18-8 1/2. This was the height at which Olson entered the competition, but he failed in all three attempts.