Monaco, May 15 (IANS) Three of the worlds best female pole vaulters will compete against one another in the second edition of the ‘Ultimate Garden Clash’ on Saturday.
Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi, two-time US indoor champion Katie Nageotte and Commonwealth Games champion Alysha Newman will be facing off in a virtual competition from their respective home bases in Greece, the United States and Canada, said World Athletics in a a press release.
In the inaugural clash two weeks ago, male pole vaulters Mondo Duplantis, Renaud Lavillenie and Sam Kendricks set the bar high by making a collective 98 clearances in 30 minutes, with Duplantis and Lavillenie tying for the win with 36 clearances each.
Under a competition format devised by the male vaulters to get around the absence of officials due to coronavirus lockdowns and the need for social distancing, the winner will be the athlete who can clear the bar the most times. They had attempted to vault 5m as many times as they can within 30 minutes.
The women have agreed to set the bar at 4m for their challenge. They will be connected by video link from their local training facilities as none of the women have the necessary equipment in their own gardens as the men did.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said he was delighted that the first Ultimate Garden Clash had proved to be a hit with athletes and fans.
“I’m excited by the potential of this creative project and I want to thank the athletes for so enthusiastically creating and embracing this concept.
“We know there’s a real appetite among athletes and fans to return to competition but we need to do that in a way that is careful and respectful of the measures put in place by public health authorities around the world so we can keep our community safe, and modern technology has allowed us to do that,” he added.
–IANS
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