Putting Hooker's Performances Into Perspective

[polevaultpower]

I am told this came from Steve Hooker's agent.


PUTTING STEVE HOOKER’S PERFORMANCES INTO PERSPECTIVE.

Most people now realise that Steve Hooker has just put together one of the most remarkable sequences of pole-vaulting performances ever seen. Most also realise that Steve is now the second highest vaulter in history, and has attempted Sergey Bubka’s world record (6.15 metres set in 1993) at four successive competitions. However, many are unaware that Bubka’s record was set under rules that were very much more in his favour.

In an effort to speed up pole-vault competitions (to fit into TV time slots) the IAAF has continued to make it more likely that a pole-vaulter will miss. Here is a list of four rule differences that made it easier for Bubka and harder for Steve:
1. The pegs that the bar sits on are now 5.5 cm long compared to 7 cm in Bubka’s day.
2. The cross bar supports now have only one flat surface, whereas for Bubka’s world record the bar was square and so would not easily roll off the pegs.
3. Vaulters now have about half the time to vault once they have been called than was the case when the world record was set.
4. Vaulters are now not allowed to touch the bar with their hands, where as in Bubka’s day they could steady the bar with their hands as they go over. Check this video of Bubka’s WORLD RECORD DAY in Donetsk in 1993. His third attempt clearance at 5.90 would be judged a miss today (about 6 min 50 sec into the video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWGyzPNXI_U

Steve Hooker’s Season
Date Venue Comp Heights Place
30-Jan-09 New York (USA) Millrose Games 601 1
7-Feb-09 Boston (USA) Reebok Boston Indoor Games 606 1
13-Feb-09 Paris (FRANCE) Meeting Seat 600 1
15-Feb-09 Donetsk (UKRAINE) Zepter Pole Vault Stars 592 1
18-Feb-09 Stockholm (SWEDEN) GE Galan
28-Feb-09 Sydney (AUSTRALIA) Sydney Track Classic
5-Mar-09 Melbourne (AUSTRALIA) World Athletics Tour
18-Mar-09 Brisbane (AUSTRALIA) Australian Athletics Championships

[gh]

Re: Putting Hooker's Performances Into Perspective

....
3. Vaulters now have about half the time to vault once they have been called than was the case when the world record was set.....

And Bubka was notorious for running way over the limit when it came to WRs..... he'd sit and wait until he was damn well ready. And at the end, who was going to call him on it?

[Marlow]

Re: Putting Hooker's Performances Into Perspective

1. The pegs that the bar sits on are now 5.5 cm long compared to 7 cm in Bubka’s day.
2. The cross bar supports now have only one flat surface, whereas for Bubka’s world record the bar was square and so would not easily roll off the pegs.
3. Vaulters now have about half the time to vault once they have been called than was the case when the world record was set.
4. Vaulters are now not allowed to touch the bar with their hands, where as in Bubka’s day they could steady the bar with their hands as they go over.

While all these factors COULD come into play, they don't often enough to make this as cut-and-dried a difference as it's being portrayed here. On a typical good jump, you don't need long pegs or square crossbars, or volzing or tons of time to jump.

Hooker has clearly made himself #2, but #1 is still a fer piece away!

[tandfman]

Re: Putting Hooker's Performances Into Perspective

I am told this came from Steve Hooker's agent. . . .
3. Vaulters now have about half the time to vault once they have been called than was the case when the world record was set.

He's wrong about that. When there is only one vaulter left in the competition (which is almost always the case when someone is going for a WR), the time limit is currently 5 minutes. I don't think it was ever twice that; I can't remember it ever being more than 6.

[dukehjsteve]

Let's talk about the revised shape of the bar here; ( I wish I could draw a picture)

As I understand it, the older bars were square. The new ones are flat on the bottom only, then round up in 2 arcs to the top. Looks like a semicircle.

It seems to me that this new rounded bar is a slight advantage,as the bar is slightly, slightly lower than the old ones until you get to the very top of it.

Yes these new ones might fall off easier if you bounce the heck out of it, and it flops over off the one flat side, briefly stays on the pegs, then falls off( easier than a new flat side on the pegs would do), but how often does that really happen ? Whereas with the new ones, on EVERY JUMP, the bar is lower than before, as the jumper is almost, almost, to the exact top of the bar, then it gets lower again just past that point. Therefore there is a lesser chance of the jumper brushing the bar than before. Anyone disagree or are my facts wrong ?

Edit to add:
Or were the old bars all triangles ? If so forget everything I've said above. But I have seen plenty of square ones.

[AS]

Let's talk about the revised shape of the bar here; ( I wish I could draw a picture)

As I understand it, the older bars were square. The new ones are flat on the bottom only, then round up in 2 arcs to the top. Looks like a semicircle.

It seems to me that this new rounded bar is a slight advantage,as the bar is slightly, slightly lower than the old ones until you get to the very top of it.

Yes these new ones might fall off easier if you bounce the heck out of it, and it flops over off the one flat side, briefly stays on the pegs, then falls off( easier than a new flat side on the pegs would do), but how often does that really happen ? Whereas with the new ones, on EVERY JUMP, the bar is lower than before, as the jumper is almost, almost, to the exact top of the bar, then it gets lower again just past that point. Therefore there is a lesser chance of the jumper brushing the bar than before. Anyone disagree or are my facts wrong ?

Edit to add:
Or were the old bars all triangles ? If so forget everything I've said above. But I have seen plenty of square ones.

Is it the whole bar that changed or just the end portions?

[Marlow]

All bars are completely round, same as before (except 40-50 years ago when they were triangular metal). The rubber on the ends is now a semicircle, as opposed to a square, so essentially nothing has changed for the jumper, except that if you hit the bar, it is very slightly more apt to fall off now. The peg length is a little more significant in this regard.

[gh]

for a significant part of history, as the dukester notes, square wood was very much the norm, at least in some places.

[dukehjsteve]

for a significant part of history, as the dukester notes, square wood was very much the norm, at least in some places.

Thanks gh and others for the clarifications. . And I liked that "square wood" ones a whole lot better than the aluminum triangles... those light aluminum triangle jobbers fell off 'way to easily ! And clearly, today's semicircle fiberglass ones are the most fall-resistant of all.

[polevaultpower]

The crossbars used in Bubka's time in current times have not changed, it's the ends that have changed. There is a clear disadvantage to the semicircular ends that are the exact same concept as the square ends except rounded corners.

The latest technology from Gill Athletics are crossbar ends that cause the crossbar to sit lower relative to the pegs. These help make up for the difference between the square ends and the semicircular ends.

[tandfman]

Regardless of where the bar sits relative to the pegs, the measurement is done to the top of the bar at its lowest point. Why does it matter where the pegs are?

[bad hammy]

Re: Putting Hooker's Performances Into Perspective

....
3. Vaulters now have about half the time to vault once they have been called than was the case when the world record was set.....

And Bubka was notorious for running way over the limit when it came to WRs..... he'd sit and wait until he was damn well ready. And at the end, who was going to call him on it?

The folks running the PV show at the Barcelona '92 Oly Games. This is why he no-heighted, probably the single event I remember best from watching this OG on the Triple Cast.

[polevaultpower]

Regardless of where the bar sits relative to the pegs, the measurement is done to the top of the bar at its lowest point. Why does it matter where the pegs are?

It is slightly less likely to fall off if the center of gravity is lower relative to the pegs.

[gh]

Re: Putting Hooker's Performances Into Perspective

....
3. Vaulters now have about half the time to vault once they have been called than was the case when the world record was set.....

And Bubka was notorious for running way over the limit when it came to WRs..... he'd sit and wait until he was damn well ready. And at the end, who was going to call him on it?

The folks running the PV show at the Barcelona '92 Oly Games. This is why he no-heighted, probably the single event I remember best from watching this OG on the Triple Cast.

True enough, but the discussion wasn't about regular meets with other pesky vaulters in the way; it was what Bubka did when he was the only one left and going for a WR (as in why it's tougher for Hooker to set a WR).

[polevaultpower]

Re: Putting Hooker's Performances Into Perspective

....
3. Vaulters now have about half the time to vault once they have been called than was the case when the world record was set.....

And Bubka was notorious for running way over the limit when it came to WRs..... he'd sit and wait until he was damn well ready. And at the end, who was going to call him on it?

The folks running the PV show at the Barcelona '92 Oly Games. This is why he no-heighted, probably the single event I remember best from watching this OG on the Triple Cast.

True enough, but the discussion wasn't about regular meets with other pesky vaulters in the way; it was what Bubka did when he was the only one left and going for a WR (as in why it's tougher for Hooker to set a WR).

Actually part of the point was that if you watch his 6.15m video you can see that his 5.90m jump was a bad holder that any official nowadays would call a foul. It's not always the circumstances around the record-setting jump that are relevant, it's that nowadays it's harder not only to make that jump, but to make every jump before.

No one argues that Bubka couldn't jump 6.15 on today's pegs and crossbars. The argument is that he would have had less meets where he would have reached the point of attempting the record because he would have had more meets where he went out at lower heights.

Bubka was notorious for taking forever to jump. Maybe under the current rules he would have learned to adapt, but those lower heights with those pesky other vaulters where you only have a minute to try... those would have done him in (sometimes).

He was a competitor, I am sure under the current rules he would still be one of the best. But those lower heights do matter a lot, people place too much importance on the conditions for the big heights when sometimes a lower height was a bigger accomplishment.