Sergei Bubka

In February of 2001, at age 37, Bubka retired from competition. At a lavish party in his hometown of Donetsk, he thanked the crowd of 6,000 of his home fans for supporting him. After retiring, he continued to teach at a pole-vaulting school he founded in Ukraine, and served as the Ukrainian representative to the International Olympic Committee. American vaulter Jeff Hartwig told Blackistone, "The sport will certainly miss Sergei. For years, we'll always be measured by what he did."