Aussies hope smoking tailwind will help them jump 6.05+
Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 12:14 pm
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 22,00.html
Wind assistance for vault
Courtney Walsh
December 21, 2006
PERTH's famed Fremantle Doctor could be the performance-enhancing factor that propels Steve Hooker or Paul Burgess to an Australian pole-vault record next month.
The world's two top-ranked male vaulters also have the added incentive of a $30,000 bonus should either break Dmitri Markov's Australian record of 6.05m at Perry Lakes on January 7.
Given each athlete's biggest financial purse for the year was $38,225 - Hooker for winning the World Cup in Athens, Burgess the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart - the bonus is a significant enticement.
But Hooker, 24, whose personal best is 5.96m, said it was the conditions, rather than fiscal reward, that would make a record vault possible.
"You know it is going to be sunny, warm, and you'll get a good tailwind, so that's perfect conditions, because a tailwind is a big advantage in pole-vaulting," Hooker said.
"We all know what the wind's like in Perth. It works like clockwork every afternoon.
"The Fremantle Doctor comes in so hopefully that is enough to get on some pretty big poles and hopefully jump some pretty big heights."
Italian Giuseppe Gibilisco, who won bronze at the Athens Olympics and is a flatmate of Burgess, 27, will also compete in the five-man event, although the two Australians seem a class above on their form in Europe during the northern summer.
"To just have an invitational event that has that sort of incentive is unusual anywhere in the world, other than for your superstars like Asafa Powell," Hooker said. "It's really fantastic, and to have it at home and not have to travel is great.
"Sometimes you'll have an incentive like that, but you're not going to have those conditions where it is a remote possibility, where as to have that incentive, and somewhere where it is a legitimate chance, that's pretty special and something we're looking forward to."
Although early in the season, they believe breaking the record is a realistic possibility.
Burgess, who struggled at the Commonwealth Games after an injury-interrupted preparation, recently vaulted 5.85m, 15cm below his competition best, in early-season training and believes he is in the best shape of his career.
"(That jump) just means I'm training better than I've ever trained," Burgess said.
Burgess credits Hooker's presence in Perth as a motivating factor to work harder than ever before.
Hooker moved from Melbourne shortly after winning gold at the Commonwealth Games and the pair, friends off the track, have been keeping a close eye on each other's progress.
"Before the European season I didn't notice as much, but this preparation I have felt it the whole time, the pressure, the feeling like I need to stand on my toes, just knowing some of the times Steve has been running, the heights he has been jumping," Burgess said.
"It just didn't feel like I could relax, which is good, because it has pushed me harder."
Although the pair does not train together, they believe living in close proximity will help them open a gap on their international rivals in the next two years.
Hooker is reaping the benefits of training in a warmer climate.
"It's definitely different and it is just about the best place in the world to jump," Hooker said.
"You can't get better really. Preparing in Melbourne, it did get tough at times, vaulting in the morning in miserable weather. It's hard to get up for that.
"But the competitive aspect of things, and being able to watch Paul's movements, to mimic him, because he's always been so technically good, has had an effect. Being able to watch that, I'm actually taking in a lot of that stuff, so that is helping me quite a bit," he said.
Wind assistance for vault
Courtney Walsh
December 21, 2006
PERTH's famed Fremantle Doctor could be the performance-enhancing factor that propels Steve Hooker or Paul Burgess to an Australian pole-vault record next month.
The world's two top-ranked male vaulters also have the added incentive of a $30,000 bonus should either break Dmitri Markov's Australian record of 6.05m at Perry Lakes on January 7.
Given each athlete's biggest financial purse for the year was $38,225 - Hooker for winning the World Cup in Athens, Burgess the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart - the bonus is a significant enticement.
But Hooker, 24, whose personal best is 5.96m, said it was the conditions, rather than fiscal reward, that would make a record vault possible.
"You know it is going to be sunny, warm, and you'll get a good tailwind, so that's perfect conditions, because a tailwind is a big advantage in pole-vaulting," Hooker said.
"We all know what the wind's like in Perth. It works like clockwork every afternoon.
"The Fremantle Doctor comes in so hopefully that is enough to get on some pretty big poles and hopefully jump some pretty big heights."
Italian Giuseppe Gibilisco, who won bronze at the Athens Olympics and is a flatmate of Burgess, 27, will also compete in the five-man event, although the two Australians seem a class above on their form in Europe during the northern summer.
"To just have an invitational event that has that sort of incentive is unusual anywhere in the world, other than for your superstars like Asafa Powell," Hooker said. "It's really fantastic, and to have it at home and not have to travel is great.
"Sometimes you'll have an incentive like that, but you're not going to have those conditions where it is a remote possibility, where as to have that incentive, and somewhere where it is a legitimate chance, that's pretty special and something we're looking forward to."
Although early in the season, they believe breaking the record is a realistic possibility.
Burgess, who struggled at the Commonwealth Games after an injury-interrupted preparation, recently vaulted 5.85m, 15cm below his competition best, in early-season training and believes he is in the best shape of his career.
"(That jump) just means I'm training better than I've ever trained," Burgess said.
Burgess credits Hooker's presence in Perth as a motivating factor to work harder than ever before.
Hooker moved from Melbourne shortly after winning gold at the Commonwealth Games and the pair, friends off the track, have been keeping a close eye on each other's progress.
"Before the European season I didn't notice as much, but this preparation I have felt it the whole time, the pressure, the feeling like I need to stand on my toes, just knowing some of the times Steve has been running, the heights he has been jumping," Burgess said.
"It just didn't feel like I could relax, which is good, because it has pushed me harder."
Although the pair does not train together, they believe living in close proximity will help them open a gap on their international rivals in the next two years.
Hooker is reaping the benefits of training in a warmer climate.
"It's definitely different and it is just about the best place in the world to jump," Hooker said.
"You can't get better really. Preparing in Melbourne, it did get tough at times, vaulting in the morning in miserable weather. It's hard to get up for that.
"But the competitive aspect of things, and being able to watch Paul's movements, to mimic him, because he's always been so technically good, has had an effect. Being able to watch that, I'm actually taking in a lot of that stuff, so that is helping me quite a bit," he said.