THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010619
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: 53 lines
Five-time world champion Sergei Bubka said his right Achilles' tendon has bothered him since the spring. That did not prevent him from pole vaulting 19 feet, 9 inches, the best mark in the world this year, at Atlanta's Olympic Stadium in May.
Wednesday, however, Bubka said the pain in his leg was too severe, that the cortisone injection he took Tuesday was not enough. So nearly three hours into the Olympic qualifying round for Friday's final, before even making one attempt at any height, Bubka packed up his equipment bag and withdrew from the competition.
``When warming up I feel a little bit of pain,'' said Bubka, a 32-year-old Ukrainian. ``I thought it's OK, I manage. I try to keep warming up, warming up, two, three hours. But the pain always go up, up, up.
``I couldn't do anything. I feel very bad right now, but I couldn't fight myself. For me, it is a big tragedy.''
The shocking development not only robbed the final, which includes Chesapeake's Lawrence Johnson, of its marquee name, it adds another stunning entry to Bubka's resume.
Considered the best vaulter ever, Bubka won the Olympic gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. But in '92 in Barcelona, Bubka amazingly failed to clear a height in the final.
He was the prohibitive favorite to make amends in Atlanta. And as late as June 28, Bubka vaulted 19-8 1/4 to win a meet in Paris. However, there were signs of trouble July 10 in Nice, when Bubka cleared only 18-8 1/4 to finish seventh. That was the height just 11 of the 37 other vaulters cleared Wednesday.
Bubka said he arrived in Atlanta on July 19 worried about his condition and received a cortisone shot. He resumed workouts July 25 and tried four vaults, even clearing 20-8. But on that trial run, Bubka said he felt the pain return and it never eased.
He took another shot Tuesday in a different area of his leg. But when the injury did not respond in his warmup, Bubka said he feared rupturing the tendon if he tried to compete.
``I was afraid Achilles would break, but we always take risks in sport,'' Bubka said. ``However, I just couldn't run. If not running in right position of your body, you couldn't do any technically good jumps. You are automatically out.
``It is very difficult. Normally, I feel I'm a good fighter. But this situation, it is really dangerous. It is painful in (my leg) and, of course, my heart.''
American Scott Huffman, who made the final, said Bubka's departure clearly throws a cloud over the final.
``It must have been something incredibly bad to take him out, because he's one of the toughest guys I've ever seen in the athletic arena,'' Huffman said. ``If I were to win a gold medal, or any medal, I'm not going to turn it down. But it's kind of an asterisk when Sergei's not there.'' by CNB