Miles in Olympic pole vault final

Miles in Olympic pole vault final Former University of South Dakota standout Derek Miles has advanced to Friday��?s finals in the Olympic men��?s pole vault, placing in Wednesday evening��?s preliminaries with a mark of 18 feet, 6 1/2 inches (5.65 meters). By doing so, the California native who now lives in Tea has become America��?s only hope to win a medal in the event. Miles was the third of 13 vaulters to clear the mark, with Italy��?s Giuseppe Gibilisco failing to qualify on tiebreakers. The U.S. Olympic Trials champion, Miles was the only American to advance to the finals, as 2007 World champion and U.S. record holder Brad Walker did not clear a height and former U.S. record holder Jeff Hartwig failed to clear 18-6 1/2. Miles needed all three attempts to clear 18-2 1/2 (5.55 meters), putting him in eighth place in group B. Teammate Jeff Hartwig, competing in group A, also cleared on his third attempt and is tied for seventh in his group. After passing at 16-10 3/4 and 17-4 3/4, 5.15 and 5.30 meters respectively, Miles cleared 17-10 1/2 on his first attempt. The finals are set for 7:55 p.m. Beijing time (6:55 a.m. CDT) on Friday. While the event will not be shown live, it will be part of NBC��?s prime time broadcast on Friday evening.