Hooker on a high after gamble for glory pays off

Sydney: Australian pole vaulter Steve Hooker showed why he could be the man to challenge Sergey Bubka`s world record after an astonishing win at the world championships in Berlin.

Hooker almost missed the championships after tearing a thigh muscle in training earlier this month and needed a painkilling injection just to compete. He made it through qualifying with one successful attempt but was still a doubt for the final just minutes before he joined the competition Saturday. The 27-year-old waited until the bar was raised to 5.85 meters before making his first attempt, which he failed to clear.Hooker waited again, this time until the bar went to 5.90, before making the one last attempt his ailing body would allow. Ignoring the pain, he charged down the runway and sailed over the bar to add the world title to the Olympic gold medal he won in Beijing last year. "Honestly, early on I thought there was no way I was going to jump," Hooker said in a statement released by Athletics Australia. "I went in and got a little jab from the doctor when the boys were jumping at 5.65 and when that kicked in I thought maybe I was a chance at jumping.” "It`s been a very, very challenging couple of weeks ... it`s probably seemed like a rollercoaster to you but believe me, it`s been 10 times as bad from my perspective." Mental Battle Hooker, who won gold in Beijing with a dramatic clearance on his third and final attempt, said his physical problems were just a part of the troubles he faced. "It`s a mental battle you have to fight with yourself and you have to convince yourself that you`re ready; you`re ready to pick up the massive competition pole that`s going to throw you nearly six meters in the air," he said. "You`ve got to convince yourself that you`re ready to do an impressive jump with the stands very close in and you`ve got to be prepared to take that risk and lucky for me I knew prior to this injury I`d done such fantastic training and what great shape I was in." Hooker`s personal best in either indoor or outdoor competition is 6.06, set in Boston earlier this year. Bubka is the only man to have jumped higher, clearing 6.14 outdoors and 6.15 indoors in the early 1990s. Hooker has made a handful of failed attempts at breaking the records and hinted he might try again next year when fully fit. "I think I`ve proven something to myself by this working out the way it has," Hooker said. "I know I`ve got a lot more in me and I know if I can do jumps like this under these circumstances then when I`m healthy, when I`ve got good conditions, massive jumps are not out of the question.” "I`m looking forward to seeing what I can do in the next year." Bureau Report