The young Canadian was excited about his first contest inside which resulted in a new Canadian indoor record. “It was a great experience and definitely a difference to outdoors but it was fun”.
The event was a success, row by row the spectators were watching from the ground level while the stands were sold out early that evening. The crowd got a good feeling of what it means to jump almost 6 meters.
Vice-world champion Raphael Holzdeppe created some tension when he crossed the starting height of 5.57 meters in his third attempt. “It wasn’t very easy to find the feeling for the competition after the World Championship”.
Shawn Barber clears the deck at 5.77 meters
The decision came with the bar raised at 5.77 meters. 5 athletes tried to clear the height but only Barber succeeded. For World Championship bronze medalist Piotr Lisek (Poland) and silver medalist Raphel Holzdeppe (Germany) the bar was just a little too high tonight.
“I do feel the jetlag from Beijing, I would have liked to challenge Shawn but I’m happy with my 3rd place tonight”, Raphael Holzdeppe said and congratulated the awesome fans for a great evening.
“Let’s do it”
After that, the stage was all Shawn Barber’s. And he was able to come through big time tonight. First he cleared 5.92 meters and the new Canadian indoor record. After that, he let the organizers set the bar to 6.01 meters.
“Are you ready for Shawn Barber” the speaker asked the fans. They answered with rhythmic clapping and 3 attempts by the young Canadian. But although it didn’t seem impossible, he couldn’t clear the height tonight. “It’s a special place but a great place. The spectators were great”, said second placed Piotr Lisek.
Diamond League Final in the Letzigrund Stadium on Thursday evening
The high standing competitions will continue in the Letzigrund Stadium on Thursday. The best men and women will fight for the prize money of 40’000 US Dollars in 16 different competitions. Kariem Hussein as part of the Swiss squad will also participate in the Meeting.
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