Use of wrong pegs result in several records, personal bests not being validated in Reno

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

In the aftermath of one of the most successful men's elite competitions in the 28-year history of the UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit, it was discovered that 75mm high school pegs were used on top of the standards where the athletes vaulted, instead of the required 55mm pegs mandated by IAAF, thus rendering all the marks on the pit invalid.

As a result, the Swedish U20 indoor record clearance 19-1.50 (5.83m) of Lafayette LA senior Armand "Mondo" Duplantis won't count, along with any other results recorded by the elite athletes Friday and Saturday. Even before the discovery of the incorrect pegs, it was learned Duplantis' World U20 indoor record wouldn't count either since there wasn't a USADA representative on site at the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center, resulting in the LSU signee not submitting to a drug test until Saturday morning.

Duplantis will still receive credit for the national high school indoor record, since the National Federation of State High School Associations was the only organization that didn't adopt the 2003 change by IAAF officials to switch the standard length of the pegs in which the crossbar rests from 75mm to 55mm.

In addition, the Norwegian U20 indoor record of 18-0 (5.49m) produced by senior Sondre Guttormsen of Davis Senior CA won't be ratified, but the UCLA signee will still receive credit for the California state indoor record.

Brian Yokoyama, USA Track and Field Pole Vault High Performance and Development Chair, sent an e-mail apologizing to the affected athletes. Steve Chappell, co-founder of the Pole Vault Summit and general manager of UCS Spirit, issued an apology via Twitter.

All of the women's elite marks will be accepted, including a world-leading 16-0.75 (4.90m) clearance by three-time Summit champion Sandi Morris, since the correct pegs were used on that pit.

The men's qualifying standard for the IAAF World Indoor Championships, scheduled for March 2-4 in Birmingham, United Kingdom remains 17-10.50 (5.45m). High Point assistant coach and professional athlete Scott Houston, along with Samford senior Tray Oates, already have the standard from previous meets so they weren't as adversely affected as their fellow elite competitors.

Devin King, Nate Richartz, Cole Walsh, Logan Cunningham and Austin Miller all had their World Indoor Championships qualifying marks erased and have until Feb. 11 to achieve the standard again.