Bjorn Otto glides through injury, is now fit again

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Otto glides through injury, is now fit again and excited about Berlin 2009

Bjorn Otto of Germany in action in the Men's Pole Vault Final (Getty Images)
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After encouraging championships in recent years including seven medals at the 2007 World Championships, with a medal haul of just one bronze at this summer’s Olympic Games, Germany is again searching hard for hopes of success at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics which will be staged in the country’s capital from 15 to 23 August 2009.

In their deep pool of pole vaulting talent the Germans would seem to have their best hopes of finding a star, and no one knows better than Björn Otto, who missed out on a potential ticket to Beijing due to injury, that team places for Berlin 2009 are going to be hard to achieve in that event.

Steve Landells of Spikesmag.com recently interviewed Björn Otto to ask among other questions:

You suffered an Achilles tear at the German Championships and missed the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games. Can you explain your current state of fitness?

“I ripped 30 per cent of my Achilles at the (2008) German Championships, although it took about a week for the injury to be diagnosed. Thankfully, though, I re-started light training on 6 September and I have been back in training for 10-11 weeks.”

“It was weird really when the rest of the world was still jumping at the back end of the season and I was in winter training.”

“I have been jumping for the past three or four weeks and I can honestly say I’ve never been fitter at this stage of the year. I’ve spent some time in the sun training in Portugal. It has gone really well.”

Missing the Olympic Games because of injury must have been really tough. Did you watch the Olympic pole vault final?

“I never watched any of the Olympic Games. I went away paragliding for ten days in the Austrian Alps where I tried to forget all about track and field.”

Germany has a massive pole vault tradition. How difficult is it going to be to make the three-man team for next year’s World Championships in Berlin?

“It will be very hard. We have so many pole vaulters who can clear 5.60m or 5.70m and now we have a good young jumper the World Junior champion Raphael Holzdeppe.”

“It will be very hard for all of us. It is not like in Holland or in Italy, where if you are a top vaulter you expect to make the team.”

Why do you think Germany is so strong at the Pole Vault?

“That is a good question. We have some very good trainers with some very good ideas on biomechanics including the likes of Andrei Tivontchik and his impressive group.”

Do you intend to compete indoors?

“Yes, I hope to start my season at a small meeting in Germany on January 25 and then on to Cottbus, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Essen and, of course, I hope to qualify for the team and compete at the European Indoor Championships in Turin. I’m not sure yet whether I can clear 5.90m (Otto’s personal best) but we shall see.”

Last year three men – Steve Hooker, Brad Walker and Evgeniy Lukyanenko went beyond 6.00m. Do you believe the standard of the pole vault is better than for many years?

“Yes, maybe the overall standard is stronger than at any time since the days of Sergey Bubka. With three men over six metres last year that says a lot about the event.”

How much of a motivation is the World Championships being held in Berlin, in your home country, next year?

“It is a really big thing and so exciting. I’ve never experienced competing in my home nation for a World Championships and will probably not have the opportunity to do so again. Everyone is really looking forward to it and I, obviously, want very much to make the team.”

To find out more about Björn Otto go to www.spikesmag.com to read the full story.