Lost pole holds up final

The women8217;s Olympic pole vault final was held up on Monday when Brazilian Fabiana Murer could not find the pole she wanted to jump with. Murer said she was forced to use a pole that was too long as she failed in her three attempts to clear 4.65 metres, after she was unable to find the right pole among those she had brought to the stadium. 8220;It wasn8217;t possible. I had to have that one pole. It wasn8217;t on the track and I don8217;t know where it was,8221; she said. The 27-year-old Murer said she intended to protest to Beijing organisers.

At one point during the dispute, Murer stood on the runway blocking the path of China8217;s Gao Shuying, who was preparing to jump.