A 20-Foot Attempt by Bubka

Sergei Bubka of the Soviet Union won the pole vault competition at the world indoor track and field championships Saturday at Seville, Spain, by setting a meet record of 19 feet 8 1/4 inches, then attempted to become the first to clear 20 feet.

Bubka, who holds the world record indoors (19-11 1/4) and outdoors (19-10 1/2) and has cleared 20 feet in training, did not come close in three attempts at 20 feet (6.10 meters) at the Seville Sports Palace.

In other events, Greg Foster won the 60-meter hurdles in 7.45 seconds; Noureddine Morceli won the 1,500 in 3:41.57; Beate Anders of Germany set a world record in the 3,000-meter walk with a time of 11:50.90, breaking by more than five seconds the mark she set this year, and Inessa Kravets of the Soviet Union set a world record of 47-4 1/2 in the women’s triple jump, breaking her record of 47-3.