Hooker camp raids the Russian vault

[Andy_C]

AUSTRALIA'S latest Russian pole vault raid has netted Sergey Kucheryanu as training partner for undisputed world champion Steve Hooker.

The Sunday Times revealed last year that Athletics Australia was chasing the Russian vaulter to join the revered stable of coach Alex Parnov at the WA Institute of Sport.

Kucheryanu arrived in Perth last month and has since been granted Australian permanent residency, with his citizenship being processed.

Hooker holds the five major world titles in his sport the Olympics, world championships outdoors and indoors, the Continental Cup and the Commonwealth Games but has recently been Australia's lone ranger.

His solo appearance at the 2009 world championships was the first time in a decade that Australia failed to send two vaulters to the titles.

The lack of domestic competition for his charge concerned Parnov and, with Kucheryanu expressing interest in switching allegiances, the 25-year-old loomed as the prime candidate to play second fiddle.

"To have a good training partner pushes the limits," Parnov said.

"With Steve on his own, at nationals behind him the best result was 5.05m and it can almost destroy any competition component in him.

"He loves to compete in Australia, but when you're in an open competition and you're already on your own, it's hard to find the fire."

Kucheryanu, who stopped competing for Russia last year to allow the necessary 12-month break between representing different nations, is no easy-beat and his personal best of 5.81m would have placed him fourth on the 2010 world rankings.

Parnov said only a non-qualifying performance would prevent his new charge from competing in August's world athletics championships in South Korea and he expects Kucheryanu to compete for Australia at next year's Olympics in London.

"To compete for Australia at world championship stage, you don't have to be a citizen, you just have to be permanent resident," Parnov said.

"But to represent a country at the Olympics, you have to be a citizen."

In an added coup for WAIS, Russian coach Sergey Polnov is likely to join Parnov as an assistant within months.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/others ... 6005019370

[altius]

This is meeting some resistance from coaches and athletes in OZ but the administration is taking no notice - it has its own agenda.