THE ’22 WORLD indoor titlist, Sang-hyeok Woo got back to his highest jumping since 7-8½ (2.35) had earned him silver at the Oregon22 World Champs and it was sufficient for the win.
Co-leader of the 6-man comp through the first 3 heights with no misses including at 7-6 (2.29), the South Korean found himself knotted in 1st with U.S. champion JuVaughn Harrison as the bar climbed to 7-7¾ (2.33).
Four of the five who bested Woo’s 6th in Budapest were absent, with only WC silver medalist Harrison on hand. New Zealander Hamish Kerr and Pole Norbert Kobielski each got over 7-6 (2.29( on first and remained alive in 3rd and 4th.
Kobielski, however, found inspiration at 7-7¾ and cleared on first for a welcome end-of-season PR. Woo matched that. Kerr missed three times and Harrison at last found daylight over the crosspiece on third.
Now there were three. The bar was now at 7-8½ (2.35), a centimeter below Woo’s 7-8¾ lifetime best jumped indoors in ’22 and Harrison’s also. The American had cleared that setting twice, most recently to claim his Budapest medal; prior to that in this his best season to date, Harrison had leaped 7-8½ in July to win at the London DL.
All three missed first and second tries at what in the end was the deciding height. Harrison’s first miss involved an ever-so-slight brush of the bar. He kicked his second off with his feet.
After Kobielski went out on his third, Woo rattled the bar yet it stayed. He pounded the pit, aptly communicating his happiness. Harrison knocked down the crosspiece and the trophy was Woo’s.
Whereas Woo eluded English-language post-comp interviews, 3rd-placer-on-misses Harrison declared, “Energy was great out here; it’s always great coming out to TrackTown USA to compete.
Harrison’s had been a long campaign, however: “I’m burnt out, I’m ready to go home.” Once back in Baton Rouge, he said he’d “get a 4-piece from Popeyes. My legs felt dead the whole day. I don’t make excuses, a lot went on this morning that I’m not gonna talk about, but I don’t make excuses. There were two better men on the day, and that’s just how the cookie crumbled today.”
Results
1. Sang-hyeok Woo (SK) 7-8½ (2.35) =NR (7-½, 7-2½, 7-4½, 7-6, 7-7¾,…
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