EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — There are no sure things in the wacky world of pole vault. Even so, it is not bad to be Brad Walker right now.

Walker, the defending world champion, broke an eight-year-old American record Sunday at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. He cleared 19 feet 9 ¾ inches on the same field on which he will try to make his first United States Olympic team in only three weeks.

“The track’s good, we’ll say that,” Walker said. “Eugene, when the weather’s nice, is probably one of the best places to jump.”

He added, “I know I’m confident that I can jump high here, so it just adds to my confidence for the trials.”

Walker broke the record held by Jeff Hartwig at 19-9 1/4. Walker then took two shots — after skipping the first attempt to catch his breath — at Sergei Bubka’s world record, 20-1 ¾, but he did not come close.

Still, it was hard to label this day anything but a triumph for Walker, a 26-year-old two-time United States outdoor champion, and it was made even better because one of the men he beat was Hartwig.