Age brings Bubka back to earth

Age and infirmity threaten to bring the greatest pole vaulter in history back to earth at the Sydney Olympics next week.

Sergei Bubka has set 17 world records, including the present mark of 6.15 metres. He was the first person to leap more than six metres and won an unparalleled six world titles in a row.

Yet on the European circuit this year Bubka has been reduced to the ranks of the mortals, struggling and failing to make the opening height in several meetings.

And for all his successes the 36-year-old Ukrainian has won just one Olympic gold medal, 12 years ago in Seoul.

Bubka emerged from nowhere to win the gold medal at the 1983 Helsinki world championships and would have been an overwhelming favourite at the Los Angeles Olympics in the following year.

But the Soviet Union and its allies boycotted the Games in retaliation for the Western boycott headed by the United States in Moscow four years earlier.

Bubka picks up the story.

"Olympic years are always very difficult for me," he told reporters on Tuesday. "I have won only one medal.

"In 1984 it was a boycott. There was the first chance in Los Angeles for me to win. I was fresh, I was young but there was no chance.

"In 1988 I did it but it was on my last attempt. In 1992 I missed one competition (height). In 1996 there was injury. This year again injuries and problems, problems, problems."

Bubka's body appears to have finally rebelled at the exacting demands of an event requiring a combination of gymnastics, speed and strength.

He has endured a succession of achilles tendon injuries and made a late start to the 2000 season.

Still he has been determined to make a final appearance on a world stage in Sydney, driven by the fierce pride which has kept him competing when the majority of his peers have long since retired.

"I wish to be in the stadium," he said. "I would like to test again and to fight again and maybe to win something.

"This is, I think, the dream for all athletes, it has unbelievable value."

Bubka is now a wealthy man, shrewdly cashing in on his athletic ability by setting his successive world records a centimetre at a time and collecting a bonus on each occasion.

With his brother Vasiliy, he owns petrol stations, shops bakeries and a restaurant in Ukraine.

He confirmed on Tuesday he would retire after the Games, ruling out next year's world championships in Edmonton, Canada, and said he would move into the sports politics arena.

Last year Bubka was one of 10 active athletes elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and on Tuesday he said he planned to stand for election to the IOC's Executive Board.

First there is the pole vault final on September 29, which Bubka believes could yield unexpected results due to the unpredictable winds.

He said he had recovered from his injuries and believed he was a gold medal contender if he found his rhythm.

Could he still produce a six metres vault if necessary?

Bubka shrugged and smiled for the first time. "Why not?," he replied.

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