It's no choke, Hooker is world-class vaulter

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http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/its ... 90708.html

It's no choke, Hooker is world-class vaulter

Training for pole vaulter Steven Hooker is like an addiction.
Photo: Joe Armao
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By Michael Coulter
April 30, 2006

WHEN Steven Hooker lined up for the pole vault at last month's Commonwealth Games, he knew he was the man to beat.

While his Australian rivals Paul Burgess and Dmitri Markov had the bigger reputations, Hooker was confident he had the better preparation and form. All he needed to do was put it together. That he did, with a gold medal-winning leap of 5.80 metres, which answered an important question in his mind.

"This was my third major and the first two I went to I really under-performed," Hooker said, referring to his early exits at the 2004 Olympics and last year's Helsinki world championships.

"I had high hopes going into both, especially Helsinki, and really under-performed, and the only question mark in my head coming into the Commonwealth Games was, 'can I put it together at a major, or am I just a choker?'

"It's a horrible thing to think about, but it is one of those things that plays on your mind. And I did have pretty much a perfect competition, with no miss to 5.80 â€â€