Poland’s Piotr Lisek nudged the world lead in the pole vault up to 5.85m with a first-time clearance on Wednesday (30) evening at the Springermeeting Cottbus.
World outdoor champion Sam Kendricks previously held the world leading mark with 5.84m at the Meeting de Paris Indoor on Sunday evening but American had to settle for third place last night with 5.70m.
Lisek needed two attempts at 5.70m but the Pole put the pressure on Kendricks with first-time clearances at 5.80m and 5.85m. Kendricks took unsuccessful attempts at both heights before one final try at 5.90m to unseat Lisek.
Lisek will be defending his pole vault title at the Glasgow 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships from 1-3 March. He missed out on the medals in Berlin last August when Armand Duplantis won with a championship record of 5.85m.
Duplantis is unlikely to compete in Glasgow but that is not to say Sweden will be without a medal contender in the event. Teammate Melker Svard Jacobsson was second with a lifetime best of 5.80m.
In the high jump, Mariya Lasitskene set a meeting record of 2.02m, clearing seven successive heights up to 2.02m on her first attempts before three solid tries at a world-leading mark of 2.05m.
Lasitskene has already surpassed 2.00m in five of her six competitions this season and holds the world lead with 2.03m. The reigning world and European champion will be looking to add to her title haul in Glasgow in March.
Reigning champion Airine Palsyte is returning to the form which took her to that title in Belgrade two years ago. She cleared 1.98m on her first attempt and after two failures at 2.00m, Palsyte had one very close attempt at a would-be Lithuanian record of 2.02m.
World silver medallist Yuliya Levchenko finished third with 1.96m with Ukrainian teammate Yaroslava Mahuchikh fourth with 1.94m.