SPORTSLINE

Pole vaulting great Serhiy Bubka retires

After setting world records 35 times, winning six consecutive world championships and an Olympic gold medal, pole vaulter Serhiy Bubka officially retired on February 4 in his hometown in Donetsk, Ukraine, where in 1993 he had set the world indoor record of 20 feet, 2 inches.

The 37-year-old pole vault champion was honored at a ceremony at the Pole Vault Stars, a competition that he founded in Donetsk, according to Ukrainian News. There, among a crowd of supporters, an open letter from President Leonid Kuchma was read. "Thanks to you, the world learned about Ukraine in a new sense," President Kuchma said.

Mr. Bubka is a half-inch over six feet tall and weights 176 pounds, and has strength, speed and gymnastic ability. As noted by the Associated Press, Mr. Bubka gripped the pole higher than most vaulters, giving him extra leverage.

"Technically, he is not that much different from the rest of us. It's the amount of force that he is able to generate," said Kory Tarpenning, once the leading men's vaulter in the United States. "He puts 10 or 15 percent more energy into the pole, and that's the reason he goes four to 12 inches higher than anyone else." Mr. Bubka might have added to his achievements were it not for a series of leg and Achilles' tendon injuries that have plagued him for the past several years.

Mr. Bubka's pole-vaulting career began in 1983 when he competed at the world championships at Helsinki, Finland, as the No. 3 vaulter on the Soviet team. After that he won the next five world titles, becoming the only athlete to accumulate six world championship gold medals. His performances at the Olympics were less dominant. He won the gold medal in 1988, but that was his only Olympic medal in four Summer Games.

Although he has left pole vaulting, Mr. Bubka will still be active in the world of sports. At the Sydney Olympics he was elected to the International Olympic Committee's executive board, and he is also a member of the Evaluation Commission for the 2008 Olympics.

FIGURE SKATING

At the European Figure Skating Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, the Russians swept all of the women's medals for the third year in a row.

The gold medalist was Irina Slutskaya, whose fourth title puts her in select company. Only four others, including Olympic medalist Sonja Henie and Katarina Witt, have won more, the Associated Press noted.

Ukraine placed just below the medal contenders with Yelena Liashenko placing fourth and Galina Maniachenko in eight place.

POLE VAULTING

Stacy Dragila, the first Olympic gold medalist in women's pole vaulting, has been called "the female Sergei Bubka" by The New York Times. At the recent Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden, Ms. Dragila cleared 15-2 1/4 inches to set an indoor world record.

This was Ms. Dragila's third Millrose title in four years. She beat Ukrainian pole vaulter Anzhela Balakhonova at 14-9. Ms. Dragila missed her first two attempts at 14-5 1/2, but recovered to clear the bar at 14-9 on her first attempt, while Ms. Balakhanova missed all three of hers.

Because women's vaulting has been recognized only since 1994, there is opportunity to set new world records at almost every competition.

BIATHLON

Olena Zubrilova of Ukraine won the bronze medal in the women's individual event at the biathlon world championships in Pokljuka, Slovenia, on February 6. Olena Petrova, also from Ukraine, placed fourth.

The gold medal in the 15k individual event was captured by the fourth-time World Cup Champion Magdalena Forsberg of Sweden and Liv Grete Skjelbreid-Poiree of Norway won the silver.

In the World Cup standing this year Ms. Zubrilova placed second with 586 points. Last year Ms. Zubrilova was the world champion in the 15k individual event and also the gold medalist in the mass start (10k) competition.

In the men's 20k individual event at the biathlon world championships, Paavo Puurunen of Finland holds the gold medal, and Ukrainian Ruslan Lysenko came in sixth place.

BOXING

On January 27 after a minute and 51 seconds of the opening round, Ukrainian boxer Vitalii Klychko, 29, twice knocked down the former WBA cruiserweight world champion, American Orlin Norris, at the sold-out Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich.

After the second knockdown, Mr. Norris complained to the referee and refused to continue, according to Ukrainian News. "He landed a good shot for the first knockdown," Mr. Norris admitted. "I'm very disappointed. I did not expect anything like this."

This was the 29th victory in 30 fights for Mr. Klychko and his 28th knockout. It was Mr. Norris' seventh loss in 58 matches.

Vitalii Klychko and his younger brother, Volodymyr (also a World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion), are reportedly considering a change in management, reported the Associated Press.

The two Ukrainian brothers had an ongoing dispute with Hamburg's Universum Boxing promotion and promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl. According to Ukrainian News, German newspapers had reported earlier that the brothers were dissatisfied with Mr. Kohl's ability to land them big-money fights against the top heavyweights. The two would like to fight in the United States.

According to the Klychko brothers, their contract with Universum ends on April 30 of this year; meanwhile, Mr. Kohl believes it ends April 30, 2004.

Volodymyr Klychko, 24, also holds an impressive record. He is 35-1 with 32 knockouts and is the 1996 Olympic superheavyweight champion.

HIGH JUMP

Inga Babakova of Ukraine won the silver medal in the women's high jump at the Globen Galan indoor meet in Stockholm, Sweden, on February 15 with a height of 6-51/2 inches. Kajsa Bergqvist of Sweden took the gold with a jump of 6-6 1/4 inches.

TRACK

Also at the Globen Galan indoor meet, Ukrainian Anzhela Kravchenko took silver in the women's 60-meter dash.

TENNIS

Greg Rusedski, a Montreal-native Ukrainian Brit, upset Andre Agassi, the Australian Open champion, 6-3, 6-3, at the Synbase Open in San Jose, Calif.

Mr. Rusedski, the indoor tournament's eighth-seeded player, who earned his 10th career title, had not won a final since 1999 in Vienna, according to The New York Times.

"The way I was thinking and serving out there, I was in command," the left-handed Mr. Rusedski said, after a booming serve reaching 139 miles per hour. In turn, Mr. Agassi, who had trouble with his first serves, lost for the first time this season, making his record 11-1.

Mr. Rusedski, ranked 13th, suffered from foot injuries last year. However, this season he has been overhauling his mechanics to prevent injury, The New York Times noted.

As a teen, Mr. Rusedski played at Soyuzivka during several Labor Day tournaments sponsored by the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada.

BODYBUILDING

Valentina Chepiga of Ukraine was named the Ms. Olympia Heavyweight champion for 2000. The competition is sponsored by the International Federation of Bodybuilding. Ms. Olympia Lightweight was Andrulla Blanchette of England.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 18, 2001, No. 11, Vol. LXIX

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