Steve Hooker will have one last chance to remove the super glue from his shoes before the Olympics when he contests the pole vault at Crystal Palace in London on Friday night.
Hooker has entered the two-day London leg of the Diamond League meeting in what is a good dress rehearsal for the conditions that can be expected at the Olympic Stadium in three weeks time.
Hooker will have his hands full with red hot competition, not only from the gold medal favourite France’s Renaud Lavillenie but Germans Malte Mohr and Bjorn Otto. The Germans are coached by the popular former European champion Tim Lobinger.
Lavillenie, undefeated this season, pushed the magic six metre barrier clearing 5.97 metres in Helsinki when taking the European championship crown on July 1.
Other Australians having their last pre-Olympic competition are long jumpers Henry Frayne and Mitchell Watt.
This will be a very hotly contested event as all the competitors in the Grand Prix event have season best distances over eight metres. Watt, the 2011 world championships silver medallist, is currently equal second in the Diamond League standings behind Russian Aleksandr Menkov.
On Saturday the two KMs, Kim Mickle and Kathryn Mitchell will contest the women’s javelin and miler’s Ryan Gregson and Jeff Riseley will take on the might of the Kenyans.
Riseley has a very competitive season best of 3:52.53 and Gregson 3:53.62 so both are showing solid form leading into London. Due to the cooler conditions of the London capital it will be the distance races and not the sprints at the Olympics that will produce the records.
After extending her season lead in Paris last Friday night by running a stunning 12.40, world champion hurdler Sally Pearson has a large pack chasing her. With 15 runners entered, the hurdles will be run in two heats with the final scheduled to be one of the finales set for 12:39am AEST Sunday 15 July.
If Pearson can keep this current form and the conditions are favourable, the dubious world record of 12.21 by Yordanka Donkova’s could be under serious threat by the end of the season.
Jocelyn McLennan
Roar Guru
After last night in London in the wet and the cold (again) I have doubts he will even compete in London. I want him to prove me wrong. If the weather does not improve in England in a complete hurray these Olympics will be a debacle for the outdoor sports!.
k77sujith
Guest
Hooker has had a terrible outing and probably the worst possible preparation leading up to the Olympics. Can he pull off a miracle come London 2012?
Jocelyn McLennan
Roar Guru
I still think Bubka would have broken his own world record at the 1993 worlds in Stuttgart if the silly official did not make the mistake about the timine allowed between attempts and timed him out. He was in red hot form that day in perfect conditions. Not the only officiating msitake at those champioships that robbed someone!.Insert Merlene Ottey's name here.
Johnno
Guest
-Great tribute to Sergi Bubka here a 3minute clip, with the cold play song "when i ruled the world" what a man what a star Sergi Bubka was. Go steve hooker too can't wait to London 2012 Olympics, who said the Olympics are boring , anyone who thinks that has rocks in there head. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK317VI3hkk
Jocelyn McLennan
Roar Guru
Tim I am probably not that impartial either as I think Steve's efforts at both Beijing and Berlin were some of the most courageous I have ever seen and why I still hold out a lot of hope that he can pull one from the bag again. I am just hoping it is just fine and dry in London this Friday so that he can jump without the conditions in the back of his mind. I think the Shanghai debacle with the torrential rain really spooked him again after he had jumped so well indoors in Perth the qualify.If the conditions had been fine and warm in China and he made at least say 5:50 I think he would be back on track for a big one....here's hoping he can win from lane 8 as the slowest qualifyer so to speak as Perkins did in Atlanta. As Roger Federer proved this week, right off a champion at your peril.
Tim Renowden
Expert
Pole vault is an incredibly difficult event technically - it's an extremely complex series of movements and everything has to go right or you basically can't clear a height. It's reasonably common for even top-class vaulters to "no height" in competitions, and the chances of this occurring when the weather is poor are obviously much higher. Hooker's competition results this year have been well below his own standards, but apparently he's been jumping well in training and his physical fitness is good. Let's hope he can get a couple of good results before the Games, for his own confidence. His world championship win in Berlin in 2009, practically off one leg, shows what he can do if his confidence is high. That said, his French rival Lavillenie has been in great form indoors and outdoors, so would have to be the favourite to win. Not that that ever helped Bubka at the Olympics. For the sake of disclosure, I competed at the same club as Steve (Box Hill in Melbourne) for many years and we remain friends, so I'm probably not the most impartial observer ;)
k77sujith
Guest
Love the 'Do a Hooker' phrase Rules :)
k77sujith
Guest
I'm privileged Johno, thank you very much. I'm just glad to be involved :)
Australian Rules
Guest
Ditto k77. It was heartbreaking to see his "no jumps" in Spain. Purely mental. Would love him to "do a Perkins"...or perhaps more accurately, "do a Hooker" a la World Champs...but it's looking very unlikely at this stage.
Johnno
Guest
Thanks k77sujith i love to express myself on many levels i am open minded and delightful and like to expres myself a lot. Thanks for you compliments once again and the love is mutual k77sujith. Some of your articles have been top class and a lot of your comments too have been beautiful too read as well.
k77sujith
Guest
Johno, you sure do have a way of expressing your thoughts and I love it!
k77sujith
Guest
Hooker has in recent times suffered a mental breakdown and was in an outright negative frame of mind. He might have overcome that hurdle in his preparation for the Olympics but I'm not sure if hes got the firepower and mental dexterity to beat stiff competition. Thanks.
Johnno
Guest
Yes Jocelyn i agree the pole vauters though are also the most fearless athletes known to man kind jocelyn. Amazing men Jocelyn, as are the women like tatiana Gregoriava beautiful and talented and fealress are the world's pole vauter's Jocelyn . They seduce us jocelyn with the lack of fear and freedom in the air, . Chariots of fire joclyn the movie about athletics i say chariots of courage Jocelyn about pole vauters to get a huge stick and fly for a few seconds in the air feeling half free but half scared at the same time wow courage overload Jocelyn.
Jocelyn McLennan
Roar Guru
he certainly has the talent and has won before under adverse circumstances. I am hoping he can do a Kieran Perkins in London. Hooker looked like he was on his way to threaten Bubka's WR 2 years ago injury and this lack of confidence has put a big hurdle in front of that. Hoping the weather is good in London on Friday night as a wet track will do nothing for his confidence as it did not in Shanghai. I wish him all the best no matter what. I think Bubka was better technician but Hooker might edge him in strenght as an athlete. Interesting how Bubka junior took up pro-tennis and not athletics...the lure of the money I guess
Johnno
Guest
Some say Hooker is more talented and a superior pole vaulter too serge bubka and more successful. Could be true.