No Height for Hooker in Blustery Oslo

World pole vault king Steve Hooker has continued his surprise start to the all-new IAAF Diamond League series in Oslo, Norway overnight, crashing out of the competition in the opening round.

The world, Olympic, world indoor and Commonwealth Games champion was unable to register a mark in blustery conditions at the Oslo track, eliminated from the competition with no measure to his name after missing all three attempts at the opening height of 5.40m.

“I felt good during the warm-up but during my jumps it was very difficult to cope with the wind,” Hooker said.

“That’s pole vault, this can happen in every event.”

The result follows Hooker’s early exit from last month’s opening round of the elite seven-meet men’s pole vault series at the Diamond League stopover in Shanghai (CHN), where he bowed out of the action at 5.50m to place sixth.

Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie, the world championships bronze medallist and the man Hooker has identified as his main challenger on the world stage, took out the Oslo title with a season’s best leap of 5.80m.

Lavillenie, who missed the inaugural round of the men’s pole vault program while competing for his club in France, was left the last man standing at 5.80m after Shanghai victor and world indoor silver medallist Malte Mohr (GER) came unstuck at 5.70m.

Three rounds into the 14-meet Diamond League calendar and two rounds into the seven-meet men’s pole vault series, Mohr leads the Diamond Race with six points to his name ahead of Lavillenie with four. With points awarded only to the top three placegetters at each meet, Hooker is yet to cash a return in the lucrative chase.

The 27-year-old Western Australian-based star, who last month embarked on an 11-meet, 10-nation tour that will take him all the way to his Commonwealth Games title defence in New Delhi, India, in October, will resume his Diamond League campaign at the New York (USA) edition of the series on Saturday, June 12.

– Athletics Australia