Hooker sets Australian record in Boston

(Sunday, 8 February 2009)

Olympic champion Steve Hooker has broken the Australian, Oceania and Commonwealth pole vault record in leaping to victory at the Boston Indoor Games in the United States.

Hooker cleared 6.06 metres to become the second highest vaulter in history, whilst adding one centimetre to the national record of 6.05m set by Dmitri Markov when he won the world title in Edmonton in 2001.

Just as he did in his thrilling victory in Beijing where he made third-and-final attempt clearances on four occasions, Hooker’s Australian record leap also came on a clutch final attempt.

Only the legendary Ukrainian Sergey Bubka has jumped higher – holding the world outdoor record of 6.14m and world indoor record of 6.15m (see fact box below).

For the second week in a row, Hooker lifted the bar to 6.16m in attempt to set an undisputed world mark.

Americans Derek Miles (5.72m) and Darren Niedermeyer (5.52m) filled the placings, with Hooker’s training partner Paul Burgess finishing fifth with 5.37m.

“I had a massive clearance at 5.87 which gave me a lot of confidence,” the 26-year-old West Australian said from Boston.

“I had a bit of a touch on the bar on the way over at 6.06 and then moved up to a new, bigger and stiffer pole for the world record jumps.

Hooker had three close attempts at the world record in New York last week, but felt he needed a bigger pole in his bag. He collected a new ‘Pacer’ pole which was made specifically for him during the week and had the first chance to use it in his quest to leap past Bubka.

“At first I struggled a bit with the new pole. It felt a bit funny in my hands. It just felt bigger and stiffer, so on my first attempt I just ran though.

“The second jump was better; at least I got off the ground. My second and third jumps were good jumps, I just had the uprights too close. The third attempt was the best and I dragged the bar off with my arm on the way over.

Hooker said it was great to get the chance to leap with the new pole, something he feels is essential to his world record aspirations.

“It’s a pole you can only jump on in competition when the circumstances are right. You can’t replicate it in training so it was a good experience to give it a ride.”

Hooker’s leap adds 4cm to the personal best of 6.01m he set in New York, and captures the Australian mark set by one of his heroes in 2001 world champion Dmitri Markov.

“I remember watching Dmitri jump 6.05m in Edmonton and it was the most unbelievable thing I’d seen – to do it in a major championship. He is one of the greatest vaulters of all time and to have beaten his record is an amazing feeling.

“There’s no-one now between me and Bubka now and I’m happy to be there.”

Having now produced back-to-back six metre leaps in his first two competitions since his victory in Beijing, Hooker now leaves the US for Europe. He will travel via Germany to pick up his “European poles” and then head to Paris for the Paris Indoors next Friday, followed by Sergey Bubka’s own pole vault meet in Donetsk, Ukraine and one more event in Stockholm before returning to Australia for the Sydney Track Classic (Saturday 28 February), World
Athletics Tour Melbourne (Thursday 5 March) and Australian Championships in Brisbane (19-21 March).

Pole Vault Men - All time

* When the IAAF changed the rules to allow indoor records to be the definitive world record, they did not back date to rule change to ratify Bubka’s 6.15m in Donetsk as the indoor/outdoor world record. The IAAF recognises 6.14m as the world record and 6.15m as the world indoor record.

Hooker’s 6.06m is now allowed as the in/out Australian record, just as Kym Howe’s 4.72m set in indoors is the Australian record.

Hence Steve’s jumps at 6.16m in the attempt to resolve the confusion forever.

With thanks to Athletics Australia.