The US' star Katie Moon soared to the top prize on midweek, earning history as the first woman to claim three straight world vaulting titles.
Memorable Comeback to Japan
Moon has positive memories to the host nation – following her gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Now, she narrowly beat teammate Sandi Morris with a final vault at 4.90m.
Top Three Results
Morris, an Olympic medal winner from the 2016 Games, took silver with 4.85m. The bronze winner took third place with a clearance of her best effort.
The vaulter has now ended up as runner-up in four world events, yet aiming at her initial outdoor world title.
Milestone Achievement
Aged 34, Moon is the eldest woman to ever claim a world pole vault title. Moon has mentioned dreams of participating in a home Olympics – LA28 – but admitted that performing at the highest level is progressively challenging.
"They’re unique, however the older, things become harder," the champion stated. "Therefore to perform at this stage and not only win and jump 4.90m, I don’t know how many opportunities I’ve left."
Second Once More
The silver medalist, in contrast, expressed conflicted thoughts about another silver finish.
"I've persevered through health issues, overcome a lot in the recent years, dedicated plenty only to return to this level," she said. "So, yes, it’s complicated, walking away with one more silver. However you can find more disappointing things in the world compared to global podiums."
Head-to-Head for First
This showdown for first place seemed to be between the two Americans from the initial heights, with both sailing over the lower bars through 4.75m on their initial tries.
She pushed the champion a strong challenge in the missing presence of Australia’s star, who had withdrawn following a physical issue.
Following successfully jumping the initial bars on their opening attempts, she gained a slight advantage, just to have Morris respond by setting the bar to 4.85m and jumping it on her first try.
Moon failed on her initial try at 4.85m, then opted to jump immediately to 4.90m, which she made on her last attempt. The silver medalist was unable twice at the bar, and subsequently tried a final effort at 4.95m, finishing in second place another time.
She later took aim at the world best of 5.01m, but passed on the vault and decided to celebrate her win.
