CG Men - Hooker, Lewis 5.60, Eaves 5.40

[Bruce Caldwell]

Vaulters say the weather is good and the equipment is good for a fine day of vaulting in India at the Commonwealth Games 2010!
Mens event starts at 5:30 Pm India time today Monday Oct 11. 2010
Womens event starts tomorrow 5:30 Pm Tuesday Oct 12, 2010
Central USA time it will start at 7:00 AM today
Bruce Caldwell
ESSX

[Bruce Caldwell]

JUST HAPPENED
AUSTRALIAN Steve Hooker dominated the Commonwealth Games pole vault event, defending his crown in ominous style in Delhi.

The reigning Olympic champion only had to complete two jumps, his highest being 5.60m, as all his rivals wilted.

Happy with his gold medal, Hooker declined to have a crack at beating his own Commonwealth Games record and Sergei Bubka’s world record of 6.14m.

England’s Steven Lewis (5.60m) took the silver with a season best jump, while countryman Max Eaves (5.40m) scored bronze.

The son of two national athletics champions, the Commonwealth Games have been a happy hunting ground for Hooker – he first burst onto the world stage by winning gold at the 2006 Games in Melbourne.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/com ... 5937330894

[rainbowgirl28]

1 1049 HOOKER Steve AUS 16 JUL 1982 5.60 -
2 1284 LEWIS Steven ENG 20 MAY 1986 5.60 SB
3 1258 EAVES Max ENG 31 MAY 1988 5.40 PB
4 1793 RAHME Cheyne Damon RSA 23 JAN 1991 5.25 -
5 1225 STYLIANOU Nikandros CYP 22 AUG 1989 5.25
5 1969 WALKER Paul WAL 15 AUG 1985 5.25 SB
7 1187 WURSTER Jason CAN 23 SEP 1984 5.25-
8 1833 STRANGE Alasdair Ross SCO 5 APR 1983 4.95
9 1400 GAJANAN Upadhyay IND 2 NOV 1982 4.80
1251 CUTTS Luke Arron ENG 13 FEB 1988 NM-
1521 ENNIS Jabbari Taddesse JAM 6 NOV 1980 NM
1826 HURREN Richard SCO 24 SEP 1983 NM
1449 NATARAJAN Vadivelu IND 10 JUN 1987 NM

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/athle ... ult-silver

COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Lewis feels vindicated with pole vault silver
AthleticsDelhi 2010Post a comment
Posted: Monday 11th October 2010 | 17:52
From Sportsbeat staff, in Delhi

ENGLAND pole vaulter Steve Lewis has been back to the drawing board this season - but after claiming Commonwealth Games silver he believes he's now found the blueprint for success.


SILVER LINING: Steve Lewis has endured a torrid season but he believes Commonwealth silver makes up for it (Action Images)

Lewis moved into gold medal position temporarily, only for part-time training partner Steve Hooker, the Olympic champion, to respond in style and secure gold.

Lewis cleared a season's best of 5.60m - the same height achieved by Hooker - but gold went to the Australian on countback.

The Brit has struggled for form this season having set about adapting his technique, but he believes it has been worth the wait after collecting silver.

"We went back to square one because pole vaulting starts with the run," he said. "It's taken six months but now I feel like a pole vaulter again and it's great to see that the changes are now working.

"I'm going to leave here with a smile on my face."

Fellow England vaulter Max Eaves cleared a personal best height of 5.40m for bronze while Wales' Paul Walker achieved a season's best of 5.25m to finish fifth but England's Luke Cutts failed his three attempts at the same height.

"This is my first major championship so I can't ask for any more than that - and I've got a personal best," said Eaves. "It really looks promising for next year now."

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/c ... 5937889240


Fall that nearly cost Steve Hooker Delhi glory
Nicole Jeffery From: The Australian October 13, 2010 12:00AM


AUSTRALIA'S world pole vault champion Steve Hooker nearly didn't make it to Delhi after plummeting 5m on to a road.

The fall happened when a jump went wrong in his last pre-Games competition in England.

The Australian captain was vaulting in a street competition against England in Gateshead last month when he was flung sideways from the top of an attempt at 5.40m, and hit the ground.

After winning his second Commonwealth Games gold medal with just two jumps in Delhi, Hooker revealed that he had hurt his left knee, on his take-off leg, in the frightening incident. He paid tribute to the Australian team's medical staff for getting him to the Games in shape to compete.

He won on a countback after clearing 5.60m, more than 40cm lower than his best this year, but was delighted to defend the title that began his golden run in Melbourne four years ago.



"I came here to win gold and said that whatever the height was I would be happy, so I'm happy," he said. "I blocked off my attempt at 5.70m (he ran through the mat) and felt it in my knee, which has been a bit of a problem for the last month," he said. "After Gateshead it was tough getting in this last month of training to do two jumps. To win here, I can't tell you how much it took mentally. After competing for so long (since January) your body just wants to break down. The medical guys kept me going."

With the bar at 5.70m, Hooker's only rival for the gold medal, England's Steve Lewis, was still in the competition, having cleared a season's best of 5.60m at his first attempt. But Lewis missed all three attempts at 5.70m, leaving Hooker as the champion.

He then raised the bar to 5.81m in a bid to break his own Commonwealth record from Melbourne (5.80m).

At that point he took a break to acknowledge fellow Commonwealth Games champion Sally Pearson's triumphant medal ceremony, before once again facing the bar.

However, he went only halfway down the runway before calling an end to his competition.

"(The knee) told me my season was over," he said.

Hooker said he felt as if he had just completed the never-ending season after competing almost continuously since January in a schedule that he joked "doesn't make any sense".

"I had three big events this season, probably four - world indoors, Continental Cup and Commonwealth Games - probably Diamond League is the one where I didn't achieve what I wanted," Hooker said.

"In part that's probably because I was always throughout the season having this competition in my mind, always thinking about doing enough training in between those competitions to really set myself up so I could still come here and compete."

"In the end it probably did cost me a few good performances."

As the only current athlete to hold four major international titles (Olympic, world, world indoor and Commonwealth) simultaneously, Hooker was selected as an ambassador of the Diamond League, the IAAF's new showcase series and felt obliged to support it. As the Australian captain, he also felt a duty to win for his country at the international championships.

"I feel like I have done everything for everyone this year," he admitted.

"I have been to 13 or 14 countries and got on 100 aeroplanes."

He said he would have to take a more selfish approach next year to prepare for his world title defence in Daegu, South Korea, in August.

He hopes this victory will set him up for another round of success at world titles and the London Olympics in 2012.

"This is the start of the next chapter for me," he said.

[Bubba PV]

Got the video off of Facebook;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIbem6JaQAQ