Legendary pole vaulter and vice president of the International Association of Athletics Federations Sergei Bubka believes that the worst phase of the crisis-ridden sport is over. The athletics world has witnessed its worst moments after claims of state sponsored doping by Russia came out in the public followed by investigation by an independent investigator. This led to the IAAF and International Olympic Committee banning Russian athletes from competing in Rio Olympics in 2016. Bubka is also member of the IOC executive board which ratified this decision.
In India, as the international ambassador of the Tata Mumbai Marathon, Bubka, who represented the erstwhile USSR for most part of his career and then Ukraine, said in an interaction with THE WEEK, “I look to future very positively. All the team involved have worked very hard to make reforms. Rules have been changed, doping policy is very robust, so many things have already been done. It has been very tough few months but I see a very positive future.”
Bubka, who contested the IAAF president's elections but lost to another track and field legend Sebastian Coe, has broken the pole vault record 35 times—17 times outdoors and 18 indoors. He cleared 6.00m mark—once thought unattainable—for the first time in July 1985 in Paris. He then went on to win the gold medal in 1988 Seoul Olympics, having missed the 1984 Los Angles Olympics due to boycott by Russia. He won the outdoor world championship gold six times between 1983 and 1997. His world record was broken by Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie after a gap of 21 years. However both Lavillenie and Bubka are unhappy with rule changes approved by the IAAF council last year which include reduction in the amount of time given to athlete for each pole vault attempt. The timing was reduced from 60 seconds to 30 seconds. The rule changes were effected to make the sport ostensibly more TV friendly.
“We need to run, jump, clear the bar and all the other little things can be taken care of. Need to be very careful with the athletes—in outdoor competitions you need time to prepare. For that, athlete/federation should be careful of timing. It is not better for athletes. If you want to cut short length of competition, there are other aspects that can be looked into,” said Bubka.
Bubka shared the memory of the time when he learned about pole vault. “It is an exciting feeling to run with a stick, jump and fly. I started simple; from the bench and the table I tried to be in the air. My coach was very intelligent and very smart, a good man who created interest, who taught me the right skills with the best possible methods. It is an achievement for both the athlete and the coach, when a pole vaulter performs well. I was fortunate that I had the same coach right from when I started at scratch, till the time I reached right at the top. It was a dream partnership, both for me as a pupil and for him as a coach.”
