By Lori Ewing
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – American Katie Moon and Australia’s Nina Kennedy decided to share the gold medal in a dramatic women’s pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships on Wednesday.
The two women cleared 4.90 in an event that stretched two hours and 10 minutes, but both missed on all three attempts at 4.95 and decided to share the victory rather than go to a jump-off.
It was the second consecutive world title for Moon, who also won Olympic gold in Tokyo. The 4.90 mark was a national record for Kennedy and a personal best by eight centimetres.
Wilma Murto of Finland tied her season’s best of 4.80 for bronze, missing all three of her attempts at 4.85. The 25-year-old became the first Finnish woman to win a Diamond League title when she beat Moon at the London event on July 23.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Toby Davis)
