REUTERS: Fans deprived of live athletics action were treated to a mini pole vaulting competition on Friday as German Torben Blech won the Flight Night event at a drive-in cinema in Duesseldorf, Germany.

In the absence of world record holder Armand Duplantis, Blech cleared 5.55 metres as pole vaulters competed in the first sports event in front of spectators in Germany since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Fans, abiding by social distancing rules, watched from their cars, either live or on a giant screen as the night settled on Duesseldorf's Autokino.