Washington alum Brad Walker advances to pole vault finals...

MOSCOW, Russia--University of Washington alum Brad Walker (left/photo by Paul Merca) needed only one jump to qualify for the finals in the men's pole vault Saturday morning as the IAAF World Track & Field Championships opened at Luzhniki Stadium.

Walker cleared 18-2 1/2 (5.55m) as one of thirteen men to advance to Monday's finals.

Afterwards, Walker said, "I had a pretty good feel for the runway.  It seems like a fast track.  I really didn't get a chance to get into a real groove in the competition.  I think that if we had kept jumping, my steps would have moved back.  It's a great stadium; I like how it's built up around the top to keep the wind out."

University of Washington grad Jeremy Taiwo sits in 17th with 2479 points after three events in the decathlon, with the high jump starting at 3:30 pm local time.

A complete recap of Taiwo's day will be posted later on after the conclusion of day 1 of the decathlon.