Sergei Bubka

Biography Born in Luhansk, Sergey Nazarovych Bubka was a track-and-field athlete in the 100-meter sprint and the long jump, but became a world-class champion only when he turned to the pole vault. In 1983, he won the world championship in Helsinki, Finland, and the following year set his first world record, clearing . Until the dissolution of the USSR in late 1991, Bubka competed for Soviet teams. By 1992, he was no longer bound to the Soviet system, and signed a contract with Nike. that rewarded each world record performance with special bonuses of $40,000.

From 2002 to 2006, Bubka was a member of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada with the Party of Regions group and until 2014 an advisor to Viktor Yanukovych. He was on the youth policy, physical culture, sport and tourism committee while a MVR.

Bubka has been linked to business conducted in Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. On 5 March 2022, Bubka professed his love for his homeland after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and declared: "Ukraine will win".

Sporting career Sergey Bubka started competing on the international athletics scene in 1981 when he participated in the European Junior Championship finishing seventh. But the 1983 World Championship held in Helsinki was his actual entry point to the world athletics, where a relatively unknown Bubka snatched the gold, clearing 5.70 meters (18 feet 8 inches). The years that followed witnessed the unparalleled dominance of Bubka, with him setting new records and standards in pole vaulting.

He set his first world record of 5.85m on 26 May 1984 which he improved to 5.88m a week later, and then to 5.90m a month later. He cleared 6.00 meters (19 feet 8 inches) for the first time on 13 July 1985 in Paris.

He became the first athlete ever to jump over 6.10 meters, in San Sebastián, Spain in 1991. Bubka increased the world record by 21 centimeters (8 inches) in the period from 1984 to 1994. He cleared 6.00 meters or better on 45 occasions.

Bubka officially retired from pole vault in 2001 during a ceremony at his Pole Vault Stars meeting in Donetsk.

Olympics curse The first Olympics after Bubka's introduction to the international athletics was held in 1984 and was boycotted by the USSR along with the majority of other Eastern Bloc countries. In 1988 Bubka competed in the Seoul Olympics and won his only Olympic gold medal clearing 5.90 meters. In 1992 he failed to clear in his first three attempts (5.70, 5.70, 5.75 meters) and was out of the Barcelona Olympics. At the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, a heel injury caused him to withdraw from the competition without any attempts. In 2000 at the Sydney Olympics, he was eliminated from the final after three unsuccessful attempts at 5.70 meters.

IAAF World championships Bubka won the pole vault event in six consecutive IAAF World Championships in Athletics in the period from 1983 to 1997:

Year Competition Venue Position Winning height 1983 World Championships Helsinki 1st 1987 World Championships Rome 1st 1991 World Championships Tokyo 1st 1993 World Championships Stuttgart 1st 1995 World Championships Gothenburg 1st 1997 World Championships Athens 1st

World record progression Bubka broke the world record for men's pole vault 35 times during his career.

+ Outdoor Height Date Place 31 July 1994 Sestriere 19 September 1992 Tokyo 30 August 1992 Padua 13 June 1992 Dijon 5 August 1991 Malmö 8 July 1991 Formia 9 June 1991 Moscow 6 May 1991 Shizuoka 10 July 1988 Nice 9 June 1988 Bratislava 23 June 1987 Prague 8 June 1986 Moscow 13 June 1985 Paris 31 August 1984 Rome 13 July 1984 London 2 June 1984 Paris 26 May 1984 Bratislava

+ Indoor Height Date Place 21 February 1993 Donetsk 13 February 1993 Lievin 22 February 1992 Berlin 23 March 1991 Grenoble 19 March 1991 Donetsk 15 March 1991 San Sebastián 9 February 1991 Volgograd 17 March 1990 Donetsk 11 February 1989 Osaka 17 March 1987 Turin 15 January 1987 Osaka 28 February 1986 New York City 21 February 1986 Inglewood 8 February 1986 Moscow 15 January 1986 Osaka 10 February 1984 Inglewood 1 February 1984 Milan 15 January 1984 Vilnius

Technique

Bubka gripped the pole higher than most vaulters to get extra leverage, though Bubka himself played down the effect of grip alone.

His development of the Petrov/Bubka technical model is also considered a key to his success. The Petrov/Bubka model allows the vaulter to continuously put energy into the pole while rising towards the bar. Most conventional models focus on creating maximum bend in the pole before leaving the ground, by planting the pole heavily in the pole vault box. The Petrov/Bubka model follows the technique used by Kjell Isaksson, which concentrates on driving the pole up, rather than bending it while planting it on the landing pad, combined with high running speed. While the traditional models depended on the recoil by bending the pole, the Petrov/Bubka model may exploit the recoil of the pole and exert more energy on the pole during the swinging action.

Personal life Sergey's son, Sergei Bubka, is a former professional tennis player.

Recognition L'Équipe Champion of Champions (1985) European Sportsperson of the Year (1985) Track & Field News Athlete of the Year (1988) Laureus World Sports Awards discretionary award winner (2008)