Bubka clears the air

By Our Special Correspondent

EDMONTON, AUG. 8. Sergey Bubka caught up with Stacy Dragila here on Tuesday.

No, not in clearing the bar at 4.81 metres at the pole vault pit but to clear the air about comments attributed to him regarding women's pole vaulting.

``I was happy that he came over and talked to me yesterday at the stadium. He appreciated my efforts. I consider him as a role model. Now I am seeking some personal advice from him. Very glad to get to a personal level with him,'' said Dragila on Wednesday during a function got up by the AIPS Athletics Commission to honour current and former stars.

Bubka had been quoted in one of the reports recently that unless women cleared 5.00 metres, he would not bother much about women's pole-vaulting.

Dragila was hurt. Back home, her daddy calls her `Bubka junior'. She held the living legend of pole vaulting in high esteem and suddenly, such a comment coming from him made it difficult for her. She had responded to that purported comment immediately after reaching 4.81m at Palo Alto, U.S., by stating that at least now Bubka would give attention to women's pole vaulting.

``I never criticise my sport, I love my sport. She (Dragila) continues with the legacy I have left behind. She won a fantastic competition the other day. It is not my style to talk like that,'' said Bubka, the greatest pole vaulter of our times, who is now a Council member of the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF).

Bubka asked Dragila to come over to Donetsk next season for the pole-vaulting competition he has been organising there every year. Two years ago, he had started a women's competition also, but it fell through for want of funds. Now, with Dragila having taken the event to new heights and excitement building up in women's pole vaulting also, Bubka was ready to host a women's event. ``She can come and clear five metres in Donetsk'', he said.

``I seldom talk about women's pole vaulting. I spent 26 years of my life for this sport. I love this event, I will never talk like that about my sport,'' explained Bubka.

The man who took the world record up to 6.14 metres (6.15m indoors) before quitting the scene, said that women's pole- vaulting would continue to improve rapidly up to five metres. And then on, there could be a lull.

Asked about the prospects of reaching the five-metre mark, which she thought would be a comparable benchmark of six metres in the men's section, Dragila said: ``Give us about one and a half years.''

Bubka said that back home, at the Donetsk school, they had boys as well as girls doing pole-vaulting. The interest was building up among girls to take to the event. Dragila too felt that interest in women's pole-vaulting had increased in recent years.

Dragila said that she would take some advice from Bubka to go up to five metres. The Olympic and World champion and world record holder felt that it was a tough contest the other day between her and Russian Svetlana Feofanova.

``I was prepared for the challenge from her,'' Dragila said. She added that the delay that was caused due to the technical mistakes took the competition to about four and a half hours which should never have been the case. ``That sort of broke the rhythm.''

Apart from Dragila, the others to be honoured from among the currents stars were the sprint champions, Maurice Greene and Zhanna Pintusevich-Block, and the 400m winner Avard Moncur of the Bahamas.

Dana Zatopek was among those veterans who were specially felicitated. The widow of the legendary Czech distance runner Emil Zatopek said that she only had a gold and a silver from the Olympic Games (javelin) but had the honour of being married to a great runner who ``unfortunately died'' last year. Mrs. Zatopek fondly remembered her friends in India and her two trips to the country in 1956 and 1982 along with her husband.

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Section  : Sport
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