2. He attained such a level of
supremacy in the pole vault that, in
the end, he was only competing
against himself.
3. • The master pole-vaulter
now 36, has been unlucky
at the Olympics. He has
won a gold medal only
once, in the 1988 Seoul
Olympics. In 1984, his
country boycotted the Los
Angeles Games. That
same year, He set his first
world record and two
months before the Games
began, he jumped 12 cm
higher than the eventual
Olympic title winner!
4. • In 1992, he suffered the
worst humiliation of his
career at the Barcelona
Olympics. He botched his
first three attempts and
was out of the running!
Yet, less than two months
later, he was back in form
and set a new record at a
meet in Italy.
5. • The Olympic curse
continued when he ,
who was troubled by a
heel injury, withdrew
from the pole vault
competition without
making a jump, at the
1996 Atlanta
Olympics.
Sergei Bubka
