Field: Vaulting hits new heights

By PETER JESSUP

In no event does the noise level rise and fall as quickly as it does in the pole vault, the decibels gone the split-second the bar leaves home.

The jump-off between new Australian Tatiana Grigorieva and reigning world champ Stacy Dragila for gold broke Olympic decibel levels at Stadium Australia last night, the crowd already hyped by Cathy Freeman's golden run and looking to lift another local to glorious heights.

Grigorieva went one-for-one with Dragila from 4.15m to 4.50m before either missed a vault.

Dragila missed her first two attempts at 4.5m and held her hands around her neck to signal she was glad to make the cut-throat third.

When the bar went up she gave away the gum she had been chewing and encouraged the crowd to clap her on. She cleared 4.6m, an Olympic record, in what turned out to be a gold-medal leap.

Grigorieva could not make that in three attempts but the noise lifted her to a personal best 4.55m. Dragila then failed three attempts at 4.65m, 2cm above the 29-year-old Californian's personal best.

Third was Iceland's Vala Flosadottir with 4.50m.

It was a shame Australian Emma George, who had duelled with Dragila for the world record coming into the event, had been hampered by injury and missed qualifying and the chance to push the bar higher.

But the American clearly enjoyed herself, playing to the crowd at the medal ceremony with a fervour that indicates she'll be around for a while.