Weiler Wins Pole Vault at European Junior Championships

NOVI SAD, Serbia - Harvard school record holder and All American, Nico Weiler, captured the gold medal in the men's pole vault at the 2009 European Athletics Junior Championships. Weiler's gold medal helped the German National team bring in the largest medal count totaling 25, of which 10 gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals were earned.

In the qualifying round of the competition, Weiler, cleared the automatic qualifier of 4.95 meters on his first attempt. Two days later in the final, the rising sophomore cleared 5.05, 5.15 and 5.25 on his first attempts which put him in the lead as one of two athletes to attempt 5.30. Dmitry Zhelyabin, from Russia, missed his first attempt at 5.25 leaving Weiler victorious as the 2009 European Junior Champion.

Weiler earned his ticket to Novi-Sad, by competing and clearing the German qualification standard of 5.10 at the German Junior Championships in Göttingen, Germany earlier in the month. The meet was one of three qualifiers for the German Team to compete at the European Junior Championships. Weiler, a native of Stuttgart, missed the previous two meets because he was competing for Harvard at the NCAA Regional and NCAA Championships.

This is the fourth year in a row Weiler has earned a spot to represent Germany in international competition. Weiler has been on the German National Team List for several years and has competed for Duestchland under the tutelage of Ivan Macura-Böhm of Württembergischer Leichtathletik Verband. Macura-Böhm, a long-time coach of Weiler and the German delegation served as one of the German coaches at the European Junior Championships. In addition to coaching Weiler, Macura-Böhm also coached the gold medalist in the wormen's pole vault at the championships in Novi-Sad.

Weiler has shut down the 2009 competition season and will head back to Harvard for school at the end of August.

Photo of Nico Weiler (middle) courtsey of Roland Weiler.