Sergei Bubka Biography - "one Of Athletics' Most Anticipated Events", "the Olympic Games Are Not Meant For Me", "bubka Does Not Jump, He Flies"
1963-
Ukrainian pole vaulter
In his 18-year career, pole vaulter Sergei Bubka set the world record 35 times, won gold medals at six consecutive world championships, and won an Olympic gold medal in Seoul in 1988. He is widely considered to be the greatest pole vaulter in history, and is the only person ever to clear a bar 20 feet overhead.
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Bubka was born to a working-class family in Voroshilovgrad in what was then the Soviet Union in 1963. His father, Nazar, was a member of the Soviet Army, and expected military-style discipline from Bubka and his brother, Vasily. Bubka's mother, Valentina, worked in a hospital. Bubka's first exposure to pole vaulting came when he was nine years old; a friend invited him to join a vaul…
In July of 1996 Bubka was scheduled to compete in the Atlanta Olympic Games, but was forced out by an injury to his right Achilles tendon. Of his inability to compete in Atlanta, he told Duncan Mackay Athens in the London Observer, "That was a sad day in my career. I wanted to win in Atlanta because I have only one Olympic gold medal and I wanted one more." He told Ian O'Conno…
Belarussian pole vaulter Dmitriy Markov told Warren Partland in the Adelaide, Australia Advertiser, "Bubka does not jump, he flies. Everyone else jumps but if you want to match him you must be prepared to fly." A risk-taker, Bubka used poles that some thought were too large for him in his quest for greater and greater height. He made his run dramatically, bending his pole and soaring…
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, �…
Athens, Duncan Mackay, "Thirty-Five World Records at Dollars 100,000 a Time. No Wonder the Russian Mafia Wants a Piece of the Action," Observer (London, England), (August 10, 1997): 13. Blackistone, Kevin B., "Bubka Raised Bar High, and Few Cleared," Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, (February 8, 2001): K1836. "Bubka Has Poles Cut by Customs Officers," A…
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