EUGENE, Ore.—South Dakota alumnus Chris Nilsen '20 advanced to Sunday's pole vault final at the 2022 World Athletics Track and Field Championships. The finals are scheduled for 7:25 p.m. (CDT) Sunday.
 
Nilsen was clean through the qualifying competition, clearing three bars on first-attempt makes leading up to the night's final height of 18-10 ¼ (5.75m). The qualifying competition wrapped up with only 12 men remaining over the height. He joined Sweden's Mondo Duplantis and Germany's Oleg Zernikel without any misses on the evening.
 
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Nilsen was the lone American to advance to Sunday's final.
 
A three-time NCAA Champion for the Coyotes, Nilsen took home the silver medal at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics last summer and followed up with a bronze at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in March. He vaulted an outdoor best of 19-8 ¼ (6.00m) back home in Vermillion at the USD Twilight in May, but also owns the American Indoor Record of 19-10 ¼ (6.05m) from the Perche Elite Tour in France this past March.