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Australian pole vaulter Steve Hooker added the world championships title to his Beijing Olympics gold medal with an heroic victory on Saturday.
Hooker tore his thigh muscle in training 12 days ago and needed a local anaesthetic before taking his place in the final.
He did not enter the competition until the bar had reached 5.85m, by which point there were only three other vaulters still competing.
The 27-year-old knocked the bar off with his chest at his only attempt at 5.85m, before having the bar raised another 5cm.
Hooker than soared over at 5.90m.
Frenchman Romain Mesnil won the silver medal with a best clearance of 5.85m, after which he missed once at 5.90m and twice at 5.95m to hand the Australian the gold.
Countryman Renaud Lavillenie was third with 5.80m.
Less than a week ago, Hooker declared he was “50-50 at best” to even participate in the competition in Berlin.
But he made a miraculous recovery and gained the ultimate reward.
Hooker knew that the injury meant he would only be able to jump a couple of times in the final, prompting him to enter the competition later than normal.
He became Australia’s second pole vault world champion alongside Dmitri Markov, who won the gold medal in Edmonton in 2001.
Hooker’s victory in Beijing was unforgettable, when he cleared heights at the third and final attempt on four occasions.
But this victory was every bit as dramatic.
Former Australian Viktor Chistiakov, now back competing for his native Russia, finished equal 10th with his only clearance coming at 5.50m.
Hooker claimed Australia’s third medal of the Berlin championships, following Dani Samuels’ win in the women’s discus on Friday and bronze to Mitchell Watt in the men’s long jump on Saturday.
Hooker was almost in shock after the competition that his strategy had succeeded.
“This is a totally unreal experience. I honestly can’t believe I pulled it off,” he said.
“It was a very risky strategy and it worked.
“It’s been a process with the medical staff trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with me.
“We worked out there was something wrong with my hip and we were able to inject that today.
“I’m very happy I did it and I took the risk again today.
“The risk definitely paid off today and realistically it was my only option.”
After a quiet start to the championships, the Australian team can now boast three medals and Hooker had some words for any critics of the team’s performance.
“I don’t think anyone’s got any right to criticise this Australian team,” he said.
“Look at how many people we had in semi-finals and finals, three medallists, just unbelievable.”
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