Bubka Sets Vault Record, Then Olson Takes It Away

Two world indoor bests in the pole vault were set Saturday.

First, Sergei Bubka of the Soviet Union pushed the mark to 19-5 at the Soviet National Indoor Championships at Moscow.

Then, Billy Olson cleared 19-5 3/4 in the U.S. Olympic Invitational at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, N.J.

Olson sailed over the bar on his first attempt, then had the bar raised to 19-8 1/2, one-quarter of an inch higher than the outdoor world record, set last year by Bubka. But Olson was unsuccessful in two attempts, before passing on his third try.

He didn’t come close on his first attempt, but on the second try, he got most of his body over before ticking the bar. The bar stayed on the supports a couple of seconds before tumbling off.

“Early this morning it came over on a sports program saying Sergei had jumped 19-5 at the Soviet indoor championships,” Olson said. “I had all day to think about it.

“I’m really happy, especially after last week when I had been written off already by a lot of people. It really feels good to come back and do it again.”

Olson’s vault was initially announced as 19-5 1/2, but Jack Milne, the field event referee, remeasured the bar and announced the correct height at 19-5 3/4.

Olson earlier cleared 19-1 1/2. Before that, he needed three attempts to clear 18-9 1/2.

His winning vault marked the fourth time this season that he has set a world indoor best, and the 11th time in his career that he has bettered the mark. He set the world indoor best seven times during the 1982 and ’83 seasons.

Olson, 27, failed to clear a height last weekend in meets at Toronto and Dallas. After those meets, he said, “It’s been a pretty unusual year.”

He began the season Dec. 28 at Saskatoon, Canada, with a world indoor best of 19-2 3/4. In his next meet, the Sunkist Invitational at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles Jan. 17, he cleared 19-3, reclaiming the mark from Bubka, who had vaulted 19-3 two days earlier at Osaka, Japan.

Then, Olson raised the mark to 19-3 3/4 at Albuquerque, N.M., on Jan. 25, only to see fellow American Joe Dial clear 19-4 3/4 Feb. 1 at Columbia, Mo. Then Bubka regained the mark Saturday at Moscow.

Olson, who says he is afraid of heights, competes with a broken bone in his left wrist, an injury he suffered in 1980.