Inching toward history, Woo Sang-hyeok reaches men's high jump final at worlds

For the start time since the 2008 championships in Valencia, the World Athletics Indoor Championships field will not include the purple-vested prince of the men'south loftier leap, Mutaz Essa Barshim, winner in Sopot in 2014 and runner up in Birmingham four years ago.

That, to offering perspective which seems to stretch to a whole dissimilar historical dimension, was the year Stefan Holm equalled Javier Sotomayor's record of four titles.

Every bit for the other half of that touching moment in Tokyo concluding August, when it was agreed to share the glory of Olympic gold, Gianmarco Tamberi has been a surprise entry on the Italian squad sail but is undecided nigh confirming his participation.

The 2016 champion intended to bypass the indoor season but had 2nd thoughts about Belgrade after a spell of impressive warm-weather condition training in Mauritius. He was undecided again last week after beingness unable to undertake a key trial considering of a heating problem at his training base in Ancona.

Tamberi has non competed since winning the Diamond League championship with a 2.34m clearance in Zurich on 9 September. He did, however, wow the crowd and the television commentators by scoring with a stunning put-back dunk in the NBA Celebrity All Stars basketball match in Cleveland terminal month.

In terms of electric current form, the stiff favourite is Woo Sanghyeok. The 25-year-one-time Korean, who finished fourth in that epic Olympic final, stands clear at the meridian of the 2022 world indoor list with the 2.36m he cleared at Hustopece in the Czech republic on 5 February.

The 2013 world youth champion backed that up with a 2.35m success in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, x days later. He stands to go only the second winner, or indeed medallist, from Asia – after the trailblazing Barshim.

None of the other five men who have nailed 2.30m indoors this yr are on the entry list. The adjacent best is Kingdom of belgium's 2021 European indoor bronze medallist Thomas Carmoy with 2.27m.

However, "Flying Kiwi" Hamish Kerr cleared two.30m outdoors in Auckland on 20 Feb and will exist targeting a podium identify on what will exist his indoor debut. The 25-year-old set up a New Zealand outdoor record of two.31m last year and finished 10th in the Olympic final.

There are also several other quondam ii.30m-plus performers who will be looking to rise to the large occasion and clasp into the medal frame: 2007 earth outdoor champion Donald Thomas of Bahamas, at present 37; Brazil's 2021 Due south American champion Fernando Ferreira; 2017 world outdoor fourth-place finisher Edgar Rivera of Mexico; Japan'south Asian Championships statuary medallist Naoto Tobe; Darryl Sullivan Jnr of the The states; and Swiss champion Loic Gasch.

Simon Turnbull for Globe Athletics

Source: https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-championships/world-athletics-indoor-championships-7138985/news/preview/high-jump-preview-men-belgrade-woo-tamberi

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