This has all the makings of a three-way battle between Germany, Australia and the United States, with the 2005 silver medallist, Brad Walker, leading the world coming to the championships having cleared 5.95m this season.

The world No1 in 2005 and consistently outstanding since, Walker was defeated by the Helsinki weather as much as Rens Blom, the eventual champion, who will not be in Osaka to defend his title.

Walker, the World Indoor champion, will be backed up by two team mates who have cleared better than 5.85 this term: Tim Mack and the 39-year-old Jeff Hartwig, who has been making major finals for more than a decade.

Australia will be represented by a formidable duo of Paul Burgess and Steve Hooker, the 2006 Commonwealth champion, who supplanted Walker as world No1 last year. Both have topped 5.91 this season.

The event also features one of Germany’s best prospects of men’s medals through the experienced trio of Tim Lobinger, Danny Ecker, and Björn Otto.

Lobinger, at 34, is making his seventh appearance at the World Championships, which is one more than even the great Sergey Bubka. Unlike the six-time champion, however, Lobinger has yet to win his first medal.

Osaka 2007 News Team/sd