Hooker rose above being a head case

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 22,00.html

Vaulter rose above his fear of flying

Jenny McAsey | August 16, 2007

STEVE HOOKER would stand on the pole vault runway and shed tears of frustration. He would abuse himself and throw poles.

Finally, he would steel himself and sprint towards the bar perched more than five metres - or nearly two storeys - above the ground. But every time he got near the take-off point, ready to launch himself skywards, fear would take over. He would stay on the ground and run under the bar.

On and off for nearly three years, Hooker lost his nerve for one of sport's most dangerous events and came very close to giving it away.

Next week, Hooker, a Melbourne boy based in Perth, will travel to the world championships in Japan as the No.1-ranked vaulter in the world. Mark Stewart, who coached Hooker from 1997, when he was an underweight 15-year-old, until he won the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Melbourne last year, at times finds it hard to believe the transformation.

"There were an awful lot of trials and tribulations through many years, starting in about 2001," Stewart recalled.

"We knew if he got his act together he could be very good but it didn't look likely for long periods of time. There were tears and abuse.

"He just couldn't take off. You run up to jump and you run into the pit without taking off because you are too scared," added Stewart, a former vaulter himself.

"Pole vault can be very scary. It is not like anything else, apart from something crazy like sky diving."

Hooker, a rangy 25-year-old still trying to put on weight, presents as a self-assured, hardened athlete. He speaks of the "psychological advantage" he is gaining over his rivals after winning the World Cup last year and four competitions in Europe during the past month.

"Going into world champs, I feel whatever it takes to win, I will be able to jump it," Hooker said.

"I have a little bit of crazy in me now which I didn't have for a while. I have self-belief that I can go out there and compete with anyone."

But it has been an arduous journey to this high point, one Hooker has not divulged before.

He was born with athletics in his blood. His mother, Erica Nixon, was a long jumper who went to the 1972 Olympics and won a silver medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. His dad, Bill Hooker, represented Australia in the 800m and 4x400m relay at the 1974 Commonwealth Games.

Steve was a talented junior footballer who dabbled in athletics. He trained at the Box Hill club in Melbourne, doing triple and long jump and running 400m and 800m.

There was an elite group of vaulters at the club, including Emma George, who went on to be a world record-breaker.

When he was 15, Hooker decided to give it a shot.

"It's a strange sport, it is kind of addictive. You can't just do a little bit of it, as soon as you get a taste of it, it consumes you," he said.

He was also a talented under-age Australian Rules footballer who may have been drafted to an AFL club, but the pole vault won out when he was a late selection for the team to the World Junior Championships in Chile in 2000. With little preparation, he came fourth.

But in 2001 he was struck by the pole vaulting yips, and he still doesn't know why.

"For a couple of years I couldn't get off the ground," Hooker said.

"It was a feeling of being lost on the runway. If you are a long jumper you can feel lost but still jump. But if you are a pole vaulter and you feel lost on the runway, you can't even get off the ground because if you put a foot 10cm wrong then you could hurt yourself.

"It starts with just running through (under the bar) every now and then for no apparent reason. Then it happens more and more, and you start thinking about it more and more and it spirals out of control until you rock up to training petrified that you are not ever going to get off the ground again."

His vaulting went backwards. "It was going so badly I was on the verge of (giving up)," Hooker said.

Injuries didn't help his confidence, including a horrible incident when he smashed his pole into his groin - one of those "ouch" moments that can be seen on YouTube - and ended up in hospital. But with encouragement from his training group and Stewart, he made one last-ditch attempt.

In January 2004, Hooker went to Perth - renowned for its perfect pole vaulting conditions - to compete. He got the breakthrough he needed, jumping 5.55m, 10cm higher than his previous best. Another best of 5.65m soon after gave him the Olympic qualifying standard and he was on the team for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

He still had issues. While elite pole vaulters take 18 steps before they take off, Hooker's yips meant he had a shortened, slower run-up.

"I was only off a 12-step approach at the Olympics, which people laughed at me about," he said. "I was seriously a joke to most of the coaches."

He jumped only 5.30m and failed to qualify for the final, while the winner, American Tim Mack, cleared an Olympic record 5.95m.

But being in that company made him believe he belonged.

He came home to Australia, began jumping off a full approach (18 steps) and soon after cleared 5.87cm, putting him among the top vaulters in the world. Since then he has not looked back.

Last year, he moved to Perth to train with Alex Parnov, renowned as one of the top coaches in the world, in a squad that includes world No.2, Paul Burgess.

By year's end he had cleared 5.96m, the second highest jump in the world for 2006, and was No.1 on overall results.

Stewart looked on proudly and says Hooker is a rightful favourite at the world championships in Osaka, though he cautions the pole vault is one of the most difficult events to predict.

"He had such fantastic results in 2005 and 2006. Steve has gone from being an also-ran to one of the best in the world," Stewart said.

"He can win, but pole vault is a flukey game. I always say I reckon I know a lot about pole vault but I would never bet on it."