A Historic Pole Vault Relegated to Back Seat

Admittedly, the sport of track and field can use all the help it can get, but certainly not the kind it got from Randy Harvey’s superficial account of the final day of the superb World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis.

While Mr. Harvey apparently was caught up in the aftermath of the unfortunate Greg Foster-Mark McKoy collision, what was unfolding before him was a track and field milestone and one of the great pole vault competitions in history. For the first time, four men cleared 19 feet in the same competition. Instead of acknowledging these achievements, your reporter gave us an endless (30 paragraph) rehash of the Foster-McKoy contretemps, which most track buffs could have done without, given NBC’s detailed coverage.

In future track and field assignments, let’s hope Mr. Harvey can give more attention to matters of real significance.

GEORGE B. AMBROSE

Palos Verdes Estates