It was a thriller in which, in the end, Lisek played one of the leading roles. But before you could enjoy the promotion of the best Polish pole vaulter to the final from 6th place, you had to eat some nerves.
Marcin Szczepański’s protégé started flawlessly from 5.50 m, and then the stairs appeared. The height of 5.65 m was a real problem for the Pole, who failed twice and was standing against the wall. The last attempt, however, was successful.
The same scenario was repeated at the height of 5.75 m. The qualifying height was supposed to be 5.80, but it turned out that there was no need to jump so much.
After all, routine Lisek made no secret of the fact that the elimination rank at an event of this rank, even despite great experience, always “weighs” a lot. – Today my cold head won, that is, the fact that I did not give in to pressure, although I put it on myself, and you also against me. Jumping on the third try is undoubtedly not easy. When you manage to finish in the third attempt once in the competition, where the chances are 50 out of 50, which means great luck is needed, then you are mentally wrecked at the next height – admitted Lisek bluntly.
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This best shows how much the Pole mentally cost the Saturday qualifiers, in which his fate was at stake in critical moments. – I had to focus to the maximum and luckily I was successful – he added, smiling meaningfully.
The specificity of the elimination took its toll not only on our star. Even such a giant as the Swede Armand Duplantis stumbled, what is more, at a height of 5.50 m. Another thing is that the 21-year-old giant proved that in the game for the most important medal he may not have a worthy rival. At least that’s what Lisek thinks.
– I think “Mondo” is out of competition, although it is a sport. He is in hellish shape and on every jump you can see that his gain is very high. Not like Lisk, who licked the bar today, but at least it was good – the Pole’s mood did not leave the Pole. And he added: – Yes, I think that the others will be fighting for the second and third place.
However, as sport can be unpredictable, the pole vault final may also have an unexpected course. And if that happened, the Pole has good news for everyone: – I think that in the finals we will take care of emotions, so you will not have to drink coffee again. It is definitely better that the final will take place in the evening. Generally, I try not to look at such circumstances, but the morning time does not help. You have to get up quickly, wake up, take a cold shower. That is why I think that it will be easier in the final, not only for me, but also for other competitors – Lisek announced.
During his stay in Tokyo, our player does not get much sleep, but this is not a circumstance in which he would look for any excuse. He added, amusingly enough, that “The fox is generally not a sleeping fox.” – In general, I don’t sleep very well, so also here my sleep lasts 5-6 hours. However, this is my standard, so I do not care if it can disturb me.
An irreparable loss in the competition will be the absence of one of the most dangerous Polish rivals, Sam Kendricks. Due to a positive result for the coronavirus, the American was deprived of the chance to start. Competition in competitions is one thing, and on a daily basis even the most dangerous rivals live in good relations, which is why the Pole feels very sorry for the bronze medal winner of the previous games.
– We talked to Sam, or at least it’s good that the Americans have sent a fourth player. These are terribly strange and difficult games because of the virus. We don’t really know how to behave. We try, with some exceptions, to maintain social distance, of course, that is, we wear masks everywhere. In my opinion, it’s a bit unfair that Sam is missing. I believe that it should be resolved a bit differently, but I also do not know how – commented Lisek.
Artur Gac from Tokyo
