Seattle's Brad Walker Now Olympic Favorite

As we reported last fall, pole vaulter Brad Walker, a 2003 UW grad and resident of Mountlake Terrace, is the region's top prospect for the Olympics. In fact, he just broke the American record in his event, as USA Today reports, at this weekend's Prefontaine Classic meet down in Eugene.

Walker's jump of 6.04 meters (or 19 feet, 9 and 3/4 inches) not only makes him the favorite in the Olympic Trials (also in Eugene, beginning June 27) but in the Beijing games, too (which begin Aug. 8), since no one in the world has jumped as high in seven years. Here's the IAAF summary of the Pre meet; and a bit more detail on Walker from a blog post last fall.

Another 10 centimeters higher (about four inches) stands the world record of 6.14 of Ukraine’s Sergei Bubka (generally considered the greatest ever in his sport), which now 14 years old. After the Olympics, where he'll hope to earn a gold medal, you've got to figure that's on Walker's list.