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held one of her longest ever<br />
press conferences, where she<br />
explained her understanding<br />
of the challenges she was<br />
facing.<br />
“It was easier when I did not<br />
have any titles or a world status<br />
to defend. Over the years,<br />
it is becoming increasingly<br />
more difficult to stay on top;<br />
I am being attacked from all<br />
sides. But I do not think that<br />
I failed at the Olympics, where<br />
I jumped 2.05. At the final<br />
Golden League competition<br />
in Brussels, I was both physically<br />
and mentally very tired,<br />
but, I was able to jump better.<br />
Everything that has happened<br />
to me has been for a reason<br />
even the losses have made me<br />
stronger. One of my friends<br />
gave me this advice ‘Do not<br />
fight with yourself, turn yourself<br />
into your partner, learn<br />
to synchronize your thoughts<br />
and movements, if you take<br />
the best from other athletes,<br />
then they will also help you.’ I<br />
realize that one can not allow<br />
a third party opinion to affect<br />
my jumping. And one more<br />
thing: ‘do everything a step at<br />
a time, do not skip ahead.’ This<br />
summer, I was unlucky with<br />
the weather, jumped at half of<br />
my ability, but I enjoyed every<br />
moment of my jumping, because<br />
athletics for me is more<br />
than just the event.<br />
The World Championships<br />
brought Blanka two surprises.<br />
First, she did not think that<br />
2.04 metres was enough for<br />
victory; she had been preparing<br />
to jump 2.08 metres or<br />
even higher. Secondly, Blanka<br />
did not count on such a strong<br />
performance from the Russian,<br />
Anna Chicherova, who<br />
pushed the competition favorite<br />
German, Ariane Friedrich<br />
into third place.<br />
Still recovering from an<br />
unsuccessful operation,<br />
Chicherova showed remarkable<br />
resilience. She had to<br />
jump with a bandaged leg and<br />
constantly deaden the pain.<br />
Theoretically, Anna has to have<br />
a second operation because<br />
the ligaments in her lead leg<br />
have become inflamed and<br />
complications have arisen in a<br />
tendon in her takeoff foot. According<br />
to her, she would have<br />
been able to jump 2.04 metres,<br />
if her running technique<br />
at the decisive moment did<br />
not fail and she would not be<br />
able to use all her jump speed<br />
successfully.<br />
During her speech, Friedrich<br />
said “There was too much psychological<br />
pressure put on me.<br />
But the contest turned out well<br />
and I’m happy to get a bronze<br />
medal at my first World Championships.<br />
However, according to<br />
Chicherova, the problem was<br />
that Ariane went into the competition<br />
too confidently. Even<br />
the incredible support she received<br />
from a fully packed stadium<br />
did not help her. All the<br />
jumpers thanked the audience<br />
for the positive energy that<br />
was radiated and that helped<br />
them all.<br />
The winner of the men’s<br />
high jump Yaroslav Rybakov<br />
also complained of injuries.<br />
After selection at the National<br />
Championship, his Achilles<br />
tendon became so painful that<br />
he could neither run nor jump.<br />
It was only in Berlin that Yaroslav<br />
was able to complete the<br />
necessary training. There, he<br />
managed to get the muscles to<br />
respond using a “stress” technique<br />
and he, further, managed<br />
to correct his jumping<br />
technique. Yaroslav acknowledged<br />
that such events carry<br />
too much emotional strain<br />
when the jump literally disintegrates<br />
from thoughts swirling<br />
around inside the brain.<br />
In addition, he had a twitching<br />
pain from an injured foot.<br />
“I was in my best shape during<br />
the winter of 2005 when I<br />
was in Madrid for the European<br />
Indoor Championships. There,<br />
I have managed to control my<br />
jumping, clearing 2.38 metres<br />
for a silver medal. I think that<br />
this long-awaited victory will<br />
help me get rid of my tension”<br />
said Rybakov.<br />
Steven Hooker<br />
There were high expectations<br />
of the male pole vaulters<br />
in Berlin; all wanted see Olympic<br />
champion and captain of<br />
the Australian team, Steven<br />
Hooker take on the new star<br />
of French pole vaulting, Renaud<br />
Lavillenie. However on the<br />
day, the 21st August, a strong<br />
wind started to blow in Berlin<br />
and this would slow down the<br />
athletes on the runway. In addition,<br />
Hooker revealed an injury,<br />
which was so serious that<br />
before the competition his<br />
trainer Alexander Parnov had<br />
to have a talk with the athlete,<br />
cautioning him not to exert<br />
himself. “Steve, please listen<br />
to your body, because if you<br />
aggravate this injury, it could<br />
cost you dearly next year. Decide<br />
for yourself during the<br />
competition how to proceed.”<br />
event<br />
said Parnov to his pupil. So<br />
Hooker, in order to save himself<br />
and following Isinbaeva’s<br />
example, was the last to join<br />
the competition at 5.85 metres.<br />
Parnov is sure that Steven<br />
is capable of smashing<br />
Sergey Bubka’s world record;<br />
however, injury and the weather<br />
conditions deprived him of<br />
the chance to make this historic<br />
flight in Berlin. Hooker’s<br />
first attempt failed, and so he<br />
moved the bar to 5.90 metres<br />
which he jumped at his first<br />
attempt and this made him<br />
the champion.<br />
He refused to continue to<br />
jump. The wind was even more<br />
of an obstacle for the lightweight<br />
Lavillenie, who was<br />
third after his teammate Romain<br />
Mesnil.<br />
Vitaliy SEMENOV<br />
www.athletics-magazine.com | 45
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