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

The defending world champion broke an eight-year-old American record Sunday at the Prefontaine Classic, clearing 19 feet, 9 3/4 inches on the same field where he'll try to make his first U.S. 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. The American record's here for me now. I know that it's a great place to jump. 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. Then, Walker took two shots — after skipping the first attempt to catch his breath — at Sergei Bubka's world record of 20-1 3/4, but didn't come close.

Still, it was hard to label this day anything but a triumph for the 26-year-old, two-time U.S. outdoor champion — and it was made even better because one of the guys he beat was Hartwig himself.

"I always thought if I did it, I'd want to do it at a meet that Jeff was at," Walker said. "We're great friends. We've talked a lot over the years. He's given me pointers. He hugged me and told me `Good job.'"

AP Sports Writer Bob Baum contributed to this report.