Mark Christie, who opened his season with a new pole vault record in the North Eastern Counties Championships last week, came back to earth with a bump in the Loughborough international on Sunday.
The Sunderland athlete, competing for England, suffered the embarrassment of failing to register a mark in the curtain opener of the UK season.
He failed to clear 5.00m, a height he surpassed by 19cm at the Gateshead International Stadium.
The
24-year-old said: "I knew in the warm-up that things didn't seem right. I was running through most of my trials and I felt I had nothing to give.
"1t was cold and the vault was taking part in the shade, which didn't help. I had a soft pole and I only had two attempts at the height as I ran through on my final attempt.
"I'm not too concerned as I have been vaulting well this week in training. It just wasn't there on the day. It was a bad day at the office."
Christie, who confidently believes he can get close to the Olympic qualifying height of 5.70m, has three competitions on successive weekends to prove his capabilities.
This weekend he represents the North East in the Inter Counties Championships at Bedford, the following week he is at the Bedford Games and then he represents England again at Belgium.
Christie, who is ranked number six in the UK rankings, added: "I expect to show much better form during the next three weeks. I have the opportunity to go much higher than my PB and I intend to take full advantage of the opportunities."
Also competing at Loughborough was Sunderland's Alyson Dixon, who was running as a guest in the women's 5000m.
The Chester-le-Street athlete finished ninth in a personal best of 16.57.81.
* Gavin Massingham finished second to New Marske's Ricky Stephenson in the British Milers' Club rarely run 1200m at Monkton.
The Sunderland Harrier recorded 2.58.9 after passing 400m in 60.3 and 800m (2.00.1). After the pace maker dropped out, Stephenson was left in the lead which he refused to surrender, winning in 2.57.
Sunderland's North East Championships medallists under-15 Charmaine Porter (3.51.1) and under-13 Alix Waites (3.58.4) won their events in the young athletes 1200m.
* Sunderland Harrier Steve Potts bids to improve on his best time when he contests the Edinburgh Marathon on Sunday. He finished seventh last year in 2.38.17 in the race won by Ian Grimes in 2.32.04. Potts' time ranked him 120th in the UK last year.
* Sunderland Harriers returned to the Young Athletes League to finish fourth at the Sheepmount, Carlisle. Result: 1 Border 628pts, 2 Jarrow and Hebburn 525, 3 Alnwick/Blaydon 340, 4 Sunderland 309, 5 North Shields 233, 6 Blyth 207, 7 South Shields 79.
The full article contains 485 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
