Pole vault champ Hooker calls it quits
Print Edition
AUSTRALIA’S Olympic and world pole vault champion Steve Hooker said yesterday he was retiring, citing mental fatigue.
Hooker, 31, said it was not the way he expected his illustrious career to finish: in prime physical condition, but mentally burnt out. “I honestly thought the body would be the one that would give way, and that would be the end. But it has almost been the opposite,” he told reporters.
Hooker’s halcyon days were in 2008-2010, when he held every major pole vault title available: Olympic, world outdoor, world indoors, Commonwealth Games.
His rise to the top of the sport was spectacular, starting with victory at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
Hooker won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in dramatic fashion, making third-attempt clearances at several heights before winning with an Olympic record jump of 5.96 meters.
His personal best vault of 6.06 places him third on the all-time list behind Renaud Lavillenie, who cleared 6.16 in February this year, and Sergei Bubka (6.15).
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