University of Tennessee Athletics
Blankenship at World Championships
August 22, 2015 | Track & Field
Aug. 21, 2015
**UPDATE**
Jake Blankenship cleared 5.55 meters at the IAAF World Championships but did not qualify for the finals
Take a look at the images of @JacoblankPV competing today at the IAAF World Championships, captured by @ctreworgy! pic.twitter.com/4wCYW0YeS8
-- UT Track & Field/XC (@Vol_Track) August 22, 2015
BEIJING -- Tennessee senior and All-American pole vaulter Jake Blankenship will take to the world stage during the early hours of Saturday morning as he opens competition at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.
Blankenship is scheduled to compete in the qualifying round of the men's pole vault on Saturday morning, with proceedings scheduled to being at 6:40 a.m. ET. He is one of 35 total competitors during Saturday's qualification and will jump in the final position -- No. 17 -- of Group B. To qualify for the pole vault finals -- scheduled for Monday at 7:05 a.m. -- a vaulter must clear 5.70 meters (18 feet, 8.25 inches) or be one of the 12 best performers.
A native of Blacklick, Ohio, Blankenship's career-best mark comes in at 5.80 meters (19 feet, 0.25 meters). He achieved the mark at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships and again during the outdoor season at the Texas Relays.
There are multiple avenues through which to follow Blankenship during Saturday's pole vault qualifying round. A live stream of the morning session is available through UniversalSports.com, with coverage of Day One's Evening Session to being at 6:10 a.m. Live results are also available through IAAF.org, or by following @iaaforg on Twitter. Finally, fans on the go can access live results on their mobile device by downloading the IAAF app.
The evening session will be also be aired on tape-delay Saturday from 3-4:30 p.m. on NBC and again from 7-8:30 p.m. on Universal.
Saturday marks the second time this summer that Blankenship has represented Team USA on the global stage as he enters the World Championships -- the second-largest track meet in the world behind only the Summer Olympic Games -- off of a bronze-medal performance at the Pan American Games last summer. The rising senior at Tennessee cleared 5.40 meters (17 feet, 8.5 inches) to tie for third place with fellow American Mark Hollis. Earlier in the summer, Blankenship used a strong showing at the USATF Championships to punch his ticket to Beijing for the World Championships. At that competition, held in Eugene, Oregon, Blankenship cleared 5.60 meters (18 feet, 4.25 inches) to claim another bronze.
The World Championships will cap an incredible 2015 for Blankenship, who served as the Tennessee men's team captain. Not only did he become just the 14th collegiate athlete to clear 19 feet in NCAA history, he also earned first team All-America honors during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Blankenship was the national runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships and clinched his first SEC individual title in the spring at the SEC Outdoor Championships in Starkville, Mississippi.
Blankenship was ranked as high as No. 3 in the world and No. 2 in the NCAA during the outdoor season.
