If the pole doesn't fit?

(Sunday, 1 March 2009)

When Athletics Australia media manager David Culbert sent this photo around at lunchtime yesterday accompanied by just the one word "problems", it left those who received it shocked yet quite amused.

Culbert along with Olympic pole vault champion Steve Hooker, world athletics final winner Paul Burgess and Athens gold medallist Tim Mack (USA) were at Sydney Airport, heading to Melbourne after the Sydney Track Classic.

However a 'slight incident' occured pre-departure, when Hooker's poles became jammed between an escalator step and the roof.

Hooker and his training partner Burgess were carrying the 5.2m poles to the plane after aeroplane officials had refused to let them put the poles in the oversized luggage area.

After 45 minutes, the escalator was reversed, releasing the poles and exposing a sizeable hole in the roof.