Hooker targets Perth for world record jump

[Bubba PV]

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0 ... 01,00.html

May 09, 2009 06:30pm
REIGNING Olympic pole vault champion Steve Hooker has touted Perth as a likely place for him to set the sport's undisputed world record.

Athletics WA and the State Government secured the 2010 Australian titles, which will double as selection trials for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October next year.

Ukrainian Sergey Bubka has had a stranglehold on pole vault's highest marks for 15 years with his 6.14m outdoor and 6.15m indoor vaults.

Hooker, who became the second highest vaulter in history with a 6.06m jump in February, is aiming for the comprehensive mark of 6.16m.

And the 27-year-old said Perth's national championships, to be held at the new AK Reserve facility in Mount Claremont, offered one of the best opportunities to achieve the record.

"If you've got good conditions, you've got a better chance of jumping higher. That's just the way it is with us," Hooker said.

"And here (in Perth), more often than not, we do get those good conditions.

"The more chance we get to have high-quality competitions here, like the national championships and Commonwealth Games selection trials, those sort of things give you that little bit of extra motivation and inspiration to jump."

The WA Institute of Sport vaulter has carried a knee injury, which has hampered his training routine for about six months.

But despite the setback, Hooker stuck to his "no such thing as perfect preparation" mentality and said he expected to be jumping at his best at Berlin's World Championships in August.

"I had an injection a few weeks ago and I'm back into a decent amount of training,'' Hooker said.

"I'll be hopefully jumping again in the next week or two.

"But it's an injury I've had all year. I jumped well with a sore knee in the indoor season overseas (setting the Australian record of 6.06m) and also outdoor in Australia.

"So I know that I can cope with it and when I am jumping, I'm jumping well. So I'm happy that I'll be right to go when I get overseas."

Hooker said he was still undecided on his schedule in the lead-up to the world titles, but expected to be competing in European meets by early July.

[KirkB]

It might be fun to speculate on when Hooker might break the WR, but how realistic is it to think that he's just going to SUDDENLY pop a big one some day this year?

That's how they make it sound ... he's at 6.06 now, and he "just" needs 0.11 more to break it. That's 4.5 more inches! When you get into that stratosphere, that's a lot!

More likely, I expect Hooker ... and perhaps Walker ... to creep the 2nd best jump in history up to say 6.08 then 6.10 ... before they have a shot at 6.16.

So I think a WR is at least 3 meets away ... and maybe as many years.

Just my opinion.

Kirk

[Bubba PV]

I agree on the surface Kirk but I think what he's thinking is that this is a great place to jump, he's at home and he's already had nine attempts at the WR where he feels he's gained some valuable experience.

That said it will be fun to watch, as well as cheer those like Brad who are following him along closely. Bubba

[nitro]

if hooker breaks the world record are people going to start saying carbons are the best pole because the world record was set on them?

[Andy_C]

if hooker breaks the world record are people going to start saying carbons are the best pole because the world record was set on them?

I have no doubt people will start saying that if Hooker breaks the record. Personally, I feel that the type of pole a vaulter uses should be what they're most comfortable with. In the end, that's the pole they will jump the highest with. For Bubka it was a fiberglass UCS, for Hooker it's a carbon Pacer.

Just out of curiosity, Hooker has cleared 6m about 4 or 5 times if I can remember correctly. How many times has Bubka cleared 6m?

[VTechVaulter]

if hooker breaks the world record are people going to start saying carbons are the best pole because the world record was set on them?

they are the best pole anyway

[VTechVaulter]

How many times has Bubka cleared 6m?

it was something like 35 i believe

[IAmTheWalrus]

I think it might be more. According to the ever infallible Wikipedia, "He cleared 6.00 meters or better on 45 occasions, more than all other athletes in history combined (as of 20 April, 2009 there have been 42 clearances of 6.00 metres by other athletes)"

That is INCREDIBLE!!!

[rainbowgirl28]

I think it might be more. According to the ever infallible Wikipedia, "He cleared 6.00 meters or better on 45 occasions, more than all other athletes in history combined (as of 20 April, 2009 there have been 42 clearances of 6.00 metres by other athletes)"

That is INCREDIBLE!!!

Yeah not sure that Wikipedia is the best source...

Mirko has it at 44 for Bubka and 40 for everyone else:

Gataullin - 7
Tarasov - 7
Hartwig - 7
Hooker - 4
Brits - 3
Walker - 3
Markov - 2
Lobinger - 2
Stevenson - 1
Mack - 1
Tradenkov - 1
Lukyanenko - 1
Burgess - 1

I will cross check that with Gerard's book sometime.

[Erica]

It might be fun to speculate on when Hooker might break the WR, but how realistic is it to think that he's just going to SUDDENLY pop a big one some day this year?

That's how they make it sound ... he's at 6.06 now, and he "just" needs 0.11 more to break it. That's 4.5 more inches! When you get into that stratosphere, that's a lot!

If you saw his world records attempts at the indoor meets at Millrose and Boston, you would realize that he is very capable of "suddenly popping" a big one. He easily cleared 6.06m and went straight for the record. It was so close that an new world record would be no surprise to those who saw his indoor performances. And that is without the benefit of "perfect" conditions. He is a very talented athlete and skilled vaulter!

[roger/over]

Gérard's summary of Bubka's best performances shows 47 clearances of six meters or higher, but two of these were 6.00 enroute to better marks, so "six meters or higher on 45 occasions" would be correct. Nineteen of the six-meter marks were indoors. Incidentally, Dumas' book shows a total of 112 results at or above 5.90m.