Masters of the vaulting pole come to Donetsk

The XX Sports Competition will be launched on Feb. 14, 2009 and this wintertime track-and-field event that has become traditional for Donetsk is likely to gain in scope even more.

Serhii Bubka, the main organizer of the event, an Olympic champion, an IOC executive board member, and president of Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee, maintains intrigue by not disclosing what the competition will include. He only says that there is a surprise in store for the residents and guests of Donetsk. The competition will be preceded by the Golden Prologue — a play that will combine video graphics, sound and light effects, bright costumery, and original dancing.

“I am sure that this competition will be no less spectacular than the previous ones,” says Bubka. “Even the financial crisis will not be an impediment-all the plans were finalized and approved by the sponsors a long time ago. We have long-standing cooperation with the sponsoring companies based on signed contracts. We will be OK in any situation. We have understanding in the region and oblast. There are also personal contacts with companies and partners, and none of them has informed that they are withdrawing from the competition.”

The tournament will involve athletes from Australia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Canada, China, Russia, USA, France, Ukraine, and other countries. Donetsk will welcome such leading pole vaulters as Brad Walker, Yevgeny Lukyanenko, Yelena Isinbayeva, Monika Pirek, and others.

According to Bubka, the organizers take special interest in the young German athlete Raphael Holzdeppe who set his personal record of 5.81 meters this season and is capable of improving it in the competition “Stars of the Vaulting Pole.”

Among women, specialists have great hopes for American Chelsea Johnson (4.73m), Greek Aphrodite Skafida (4.55m), Canadian Kelsey Hendry (4.55m), and, of course, Russian Isinbayeva who, according to Bubka, has enough potential to improve her previous records. Donetskers will root for their Denys Yurchenko, who has very good chances of an excellent performance.

The organizers regret, however, that there are few Ukrainian athletes, especially women, among the participants. Bubka says, “Today the search for new talents in Ukraine is not very active, although the country in general and Donetsk in particular have all the necessary conditions for Ukrainian pole vaulters to perform and set records.” The Druzhba Sports Palace in Donetsk, where the competition is held, looks brand-new: it has been completely overhauled and now it offers better light conditions, excellent decor, and the most modern sports equipment. “I believe we wouldn’t have so many world and national records if we didn’t have these conditions. That is why athletes gladly come and try to put up their best performance. We have all the best things there are,” says Bubka.

The competition is and will stay in Donetsk-Bubka says that the city has all the rights to it: “The competition was launched in Donetsk. This was my dream-to organize it in my home town and perform before my relatives, close ones, and fellow countrymen, who all give me strength and energy. I am sure that without them I wouldn’t have been able to attain such [high] results.”

A different pole vaulting competition was launched in Kyiv. It takes place on Maidan Nezalezhnosti and is a welcome complement, rather than a rival or replacement, of the “Stars of the Vaulting Pole.”