Hooker ready to beat Bubka with heavy pole

[rainbowgirl28]

http://leeton.yourguide.com.au/news/nat ... 27448.aspx

Hooker ready to beat Bubka with heavy pole
JESSICA HALLORAN
7/02/2009 1:00:01 AM
STEVE HOOKER will use a heavier pole in an effort to break Sergey Bubka's world record vault in Boston this weekend.

While a lighter pole gave him Olympic gold and helped him set a new personal best last weekend in New York, Hooker has made the switch for the Boston Indoor Games.

The Australian missed breaking Bubka's mark of 6.14 metres by what onlookers say was the length of a leg hair at Madison Square Gardens last week. Hooker had three attempts at 6.16m in New York in his first competition since Beijing.

His coach, Alex Parnov, said he expects his charge to again go close to the world record and that the heavier pole could be the key to conquering the "big goal".

"For the next couple of years, this is our big goal," Parnov said. "It is his biggest goal, after he won Olympic gold last year. It's all happening quite fast. We've had a new pole sent express to Boston. It's a little bit stiffer … so it's harder to bend, it requires a different level of energy.

"The one he used in New York, he also won Olympic gold with - but we felt it's not big enough. He's ready for it. It's the biggest pole he's used his life. He's ready for the next step. He's jumping indoors and I believe it's a little bit easier to jump outside in the fresh air. It's not easy to jump indoors. But everything is going in the right direction."

Organisers of the Boston meeting are also moving the track and box used at Madison Square Gardens in the hope that Hooker can reproduce his form from the New York event.

"Because they believe he jumped so well in New York, they wanted to give him the best opportunity to jump that high again," Parnov said. "They want absolutely the similar conditions. It will be a similar scenario."

Hooker spoke at a press conference in Boston on the eve of the meeting and said he believed that he could jump higher than he did in New York.

"I'm happy about jumping a personal best of 6.01m," Hooker said. "I'm pretty happy about it. Looking back on video at the meet, there's still things I can work on, still things I can work on technically and I hope I can jump higher than that here.

"I believe we'll be jumping on the same runway, so it'll be good to have that consistency in terms of the conditions we are going to have and I feel like I can jump pretty well again this weekend."

Hooker says he feels lighter since winning gold and setting an Olympic record last August.

"I feel like it's taken a lot of pressure off me in a lot of ways," Hooker said.

[Vaultiletics]

Anyone know the poles he is on... Length flex?

Anyone know what this "bigger pole" is that he will use?

Pretty amazing stuff that this record could really be broken!!!

[swtvault]

I had heard that he went 6.01 at Milrose on a 5.2 11.1. I also heard the new pole is a 5.2 10.8.

[KirkB]

And what's his grip?

[BethelPV]

I was told that he was jumping on 5.20's in the 10. flex range... wasn't given a specific range of what the flexes were, but thats what i was told...

[swtvault]

It looks like he is gripping in the 5.1-5.15 range.

[dj]

hey

is anyone that will be there interested in "catching' a six step "MID"?

i'm just curious...

dj

[VTechVaulter]

according to parnov his mid was 63'+ at the olympics

[dougb]

63' mid?
That would make him faster than Bolt.

Doug Balcomb
PV Coach, Colfax HS

[BethelPV]

That would be 8 foot stride lengths assuming his takeoff is at 15 which would be rediculous!! That man would be carrying some serious speed!

[horvathj]

Does anyone know what pole he is on? Not the flex number but the actual weight.

[VTechVaulter]

Weight ratings are all relative on poles longer than 4.90. If you want it in terms for 4.90 span, its probably around a 225 -230lb.

Also speaking of large mids.. Derek miles is outside of 60 on his good jumps, with a 14' take off.