Boyd Ninth in World Indoor Champs Final

WAIS pole vaulter Alana Boyd has vaulted 4.55m to finish ninth in the women’s final at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.

The Australian women’s record holder entered the competition at 4.30m with an easy clearance before hitting a snag at 4.45m, requiring a third attempt. Boyd then cleared 4.55m before bowing out as World Record holder and Olympic Champion Elena Isinbayeva of Russia underlined her credentials with a gold winning clearance at 4.80m.

Vanessa Boslak of France set a new national record of 4.70m to win silver ahead of Great Britain’s Holly Bleasedale on count back.

Boyd – who has enjoyed a career purple patch over the summer – lamented a missed opportunity to outgun some of the world’s biggest pole vault names.

“I was getting things on third attempts and I wasn’t jumping technically the way that I have been in training. I don’t know what happened, it’s not reflective of how I’ve been training. I should’ve been able to mix it with those girls and I blew it basically.

“I was training well back home. Technically, I probably wasn’t completing my jump as I had done. I was getting upside down in the competition today and I think that was the reason why. I started to get it together on my .55 and even my .65 attempts but I think I’d left my run too late by that stage.”

Boyd’s efforts in Istanbul come just over a week after she – along with WAIS training partner Liz Parnov – were officially nominated to the AOC for Olympic Nomination for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

-with Athletics Australia