Nilsen returns to the world stage

The meeting

South Dakota alumnus Chris Nilsen returns to the international stage at the 2022 IAAF World Championships, taking place July 15-24 in Eugene, Oregon. Representing Team USA in the pole vault, Nilsen will compete in Friday night’s qualifiers at Hayward Field. The top 12 men advance to the final on Sunday.

The coyotes

Nilsen, a 2020 University of South Dakota graduate, successfully defended his pole vault title at the US Championships and earned a spot on Team USA. Nilsen, a three-time NCAA champion for the Coyotes, took the silver medal at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics last summer and won bronze at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in March. As a colleague, he also won gold at the 2019 Pan American Games.

Nilsen competes as number 2 in the world behind the Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis (Sweden). He jumped an outdoor best of 19-8¼ (6m) at the USD Twilight at home in Vermillion in May. It was his third career jump over six meters. Nilsen owns the American indoor record of 19-10¼ (6.05m) from the Perche Elite Tour in France last March.

The schedule

Friday 22 July
7:05 pm (CDT) – Men’s Pole Vault Qualification

Sunday 24th July
7:25 p.m. (CDT) – Men’s Pole Vault Final

The broadcast

NBC owns the broadcast rights to the 2022 World Cups and will provide coverage across its entire family of networks. NBC will have dedicated streams for both pole vault competitions on Peacock. Select tape delay coverage will air Friday on USA Network and Sunday on NBC.

One last thing

Nilsen was one of 26 Americans to win a medal in track and field at the Tokyo Olympics. Among Team USA’s 151-strong roster in Eugene, Nilsen is one of 79 Olympians.

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