Duel at 19 Ft.

On a pleasant afternoon in Los Angeles last week, Bob Seagren walked out onto the track, chatted amiably with his competitors and with A.A.U. officials, and then proceeded to win the pole-vault event. His best jump of 17 ft. 4 in. was not really much of an accomplishment for Seagren; he is co-holder with Sweden's Kjell Isaksson of the world's record of 18 ft. 4 1/4 in. set in El Paso, Texas, in May. But without top competition, Seagren explains, he can't reach the psychological plateau necessary to crack 18 ft. "In practice, even when I'm trying, I can never get over 16 1/2 ft." Lack of competition will not be a problem this summer in Munich, however. Then the 6-ft., 175-lb. Seagren meets Isaksson in an aerial duel that very likely will decide who goes home with the Olympic gold medal in the event.

Flyaway. Seagren, 25, must be conceded the edge in Munich on the strength of his 1968 Olympic victory and his amazing comeback after tearing a knee cartilage while horseback riding last summer. Running eight miles a day, including wind sprints up and down the steps of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Seagren was back in competition by March 4, vaulting a respectable 16 ft. 6 in. at the Meet of Champions in Los Angeles.

A sometime Hollywood bit player who is married to actress Kam Nelson, Seagren reached the heights early, when, as an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he shattered N.C.A.A. and world pole-vaulting records. Still, nothing that he had ever done before came close to equaling his record-breaking leap in El Paso. He gives at least partial credit for that effort to a new pole he used that day, which was developed by Herbert Jenks, a fiber-glass expert from Carson City, Nev. Seagren's pole weighs only 6 Ibs. instead of the standard 61 Ibs. and has a thinner than usual cross section, which allows for a better grip. That enabled Seagren to hold the pole higher and sprint faster on his takeoff. With the combination of his new pole and tough competition, Seagren predicts, "I think we'll see 19 ft. this year."

The man who may well beat Seagren to 19 ft. is Kjell Isaksson, who is relatively unconcerned about the type of pole he uses. The wiry little (5 ft. 8 in., 145 Ibs.) Swede has broken the world record three times this year with springy vaults that give him the appearance of coming off a trampoline instead of a pole. Says Seagren's former track coach, Donald Ruh: "Bob is a classic vaulter. Isaksson is more gymnastic. He makes it look almost effortless because he gets so much flyaway on top." Adds Jenks: "Bob overcomes that by being stronger, faster and taller."

Isaksson actually began his athletic career as a gymnast, bouncing away with a brace of trophies in his native Harnosand. When he was a teen-ager he moved to Stockholm. "His first day there," his mother recalls, "he asked me if he could go to the athletic field in Sundbyberg. How could I say no? He came home later with two gold medals. He had won the high jump, and then borrowed a bamboo pole and won the pole vault."

Isaksson compensates for his lack of heft by weight lifting. Sometimes he overcompensates. In 1969 he compressed two vertebrae in his spine while lifting 220 Ibs. That is why his regimen calls for Turkish massage after two-hour daily workouts. The injury also explains why he recently canceled a trip to the U.S. for an Olympic warmup match with Seagren. Off the track, Isaksson has garnered something of a reputation as a swinger, but denies having a regular girl friend. Says he: "If a guy is really in love, it's easy for him to begin to cut down on the training for the girl's sake. You think you can run 15 minutes less a day so she won't have to wait. And that isn't good."

In other words, Munich and Seagren come first.

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