Gold Medal Winner Beijing 2008 Olympic Record Holder 5.96m

Sailing almost six metres through the air to clinch Australia’s only athletics gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was the ultimate result after years of hard work for polevault sensation Steve Hooker.

Despite having already won the 2006 Commonwealth Games and cementing himself amongst the pole vaulting elite by becoming just the 15th man to ever jump six metres, Steve wasn’t instantly recognizable to the Australian public until his heart-stopping performance on August 22, 2008.

Leaving it to his final attempt on five occasions throughout the competition, when eventual silver-medalist, Russian Evgeniy Lukyanenko, failed to clear 5.90m, Steve took his chance for gold clearing the 5.90m bar on his third attempt. Capping off an already historic night, Steve pushed on to clear 5.96m and become the new Olympic record holder.