Walker no-heights in pole vault

BEIJING – On a night in which the world champion was eliminated, Derek Miles stayed on course to win a pole vault medal at the Olympic Games.

Miles, 35, of Tea, S.D., cleared 18 feet, 61/2 inches Wednesday. He was one of 13 vaulters to reach Friday’s final.

His U.S. teammates, world champ Brad Walker, who is a graduate of University High School and the University of Washington, and 40-year-old Jeff Hartwig, did not survive a qualifying round that didn’t end until past midnight.

“It was a long competition,” said Miles, a University of South Dakota graduate. “I think one pit had it worse than the other. On our pit, everything was OK.

“I struggled a little bit out there at first. I’m feeling good. Today was a good learning lesson. I was coming around at the end.”

Miles cleared 17-101/2 on his first attempt and nearly went out at 18-21/2, clearing on his third. He made 18-61/2 on his second try.

Walker passed until 18-61/2, then missed three times for a no-height. Hartwig made 18-21/2 on his third try but missed 18-61/2.

Walker criticized organizers for conducting qualifying so late at night and said the competition was poorly run. He said waiting to open at 18-61/2 was not unusual for him.

“That’s just what you do. You try to conserve jumps,” Walker said.

This is the second Olympics for Miles, who was seventh at Athens in 2004. He called the 91,000-seat National Stadium an impressive venue.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “It feeds the overall energy, which is great for the pole vault.”