Dear Friend!

In your hands you are holding a book that I have been willing to share with you for along time.Here is my story of becoming a man, an athlete, a person, a patriot of my country, a story of a boy who was able to live out his childhood dream.We often hear that champions are born,not made, but my example confidentlydemonstrates that this is far from being true.Assertiveness, self�organisation, full dedication, discipline, diligence, absolute commitmentto a goal, skills of constant learning and perfection lead to success and victories not only in sports but in life as well."You win yourself � you win the others" is the motto of my life, which helps me move only forward. Every one of us has many talents that we never suspect of. The main task is toovercome one's weaknesses and to refine oneself. If you are ready to open up new aspectsof yourself, to venture and to surmount all obstacles, to march confidently towards the goalyou have set and the dream you have got, this book will help you stay on your path andearn a rightful place in the sun.

Sergey Bubka

Kyiv 2015

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Рaternal home! My memories always bring me back to a small Grandma's house on the workers' outskirts of Voroshilovgrad(now � Lugansk), where I was born and spent my childhood. This small two�room house, with windows two feet above the ground, accommodated my whole family: myGrandmother, my parents and myself with Vasia � my elder brother. My Mother worked at one of the day hospitals of our town. My Father was a military officer. He wasrather high�handed with us, not letting us have an easy time. He made sure that we did our household chores and fostered love for our land in us.

Life was not easy to my Grandmother whowas raising my brother and me when our parentswere at work. But in spite of all difficulties she had faced that could make her stern and severe,she always dwells in my memory as a wise and judicious, kind, warm�hearted and fair�minded person.

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Unlike my brother, from my early childhood I had been known as a slashing fellow. Once left unattended by seniors out in the yard, I finally got a chance to explorewhat was there in a twenty�bucket barrel thatwas standing under the roof of the house. I managed to pull myself up on my hands andlook into the barrel. But I couldn't maintain the balance and plunged into it. Luckily for me my brother came out of the house andshouted at the top of his lungs: "Sergey isdrowning!" Alerted by this call my Mum ran out and saved me.

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I was bored sitting still and wanted to investigate everything around me. That is why I kept getting into troubles. Once I crept undera bus and it suddenly started moving. Thanks tosome adults who had noticed me and startedscreaming loudly, the driver instantly hit thebrake. Some other time I decided to explore thecellar, but I lost my footing in a hurry and rolleddown the concrete steps nearly breaking it all. Another day I wanted to hide from my Mum, so I climbed up an apricot�tree and kept quiet in its leaves. But the branch could not hold up my weight and broke, so I downed to earth right at my Mother's feet. I caught it a lot for all my mischievous tricks.

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My favourite amusement was football. I could kick a ball about the waste ground forhours, playing either for our yard team or thequarter team or the street. I rarely got anopportunity to play on a real football field.

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Нowever, training on gymnastic groundswas almost always possible. There I competedwith other boys in agility and dexterity. Most ofall I enjoyed rope climbing, exercising on parallelbars and buck jumping. On winter days weindulged into hockey battles.

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My first encounter with a real sport was in a swimming pool where I came to register to theswimming club. But monotonous trainings in theswimming pool did not attract me. Later I attendeda group of artistic gymnastics and there I also didnot stay long. I got to a jumping section thanks to my friend, SlavaMalakhov, who told everyone that one could evenfly over our Lugan' River from one bank to anotherwith a pole or easily fly up to the second floor of ourhouse.

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In autumn of 1974 I attended pole�vaulters' training for the first time.Fascinated, I watched boys flying as high as a two�storey house. There I also had myfirst meeting with my coach Vitaly Petrov.

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As if not noticing my delight, Coach asked meto do a couple of exercises: to do pull�ups, to run for30 and 60 metres and to make a long jump. Coachseemed to be satisfied with my results and said:

«You shall be a pole�vaulter!»

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But it was still a long way to real pole�vaulting.During my trainings I learned different track and field disciplines, jumped long and high, participatedin various relay races endlessly invented by ourCoach. And only some time later it was the time forpole�vaulting. Once my teacher brought a platform to the rink,ordered me to climb it, to stick a metal bar for pole�vaulting into the sand box and just to keeppushing this improvised pole. Later on I started long jumping and then high jumping with this pole. My first result was

2 metres 75 centimetres.

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I had been bruised and raised bumps for somany times, I had even knocked my tooth out beforeI experienced that amazing feeling of flying over thebar. In addition to my knocked�out tooth, I had alsolate returns from trainings, and it seemed that theywere coming to an end. My parents said unanimously:"That's enough! Consider it finished!"And so it would have happened if not for my brother who stood up for me and promised that hewould accompany me to my sports activities and,while doing it, he would try training himself if Coachagreed.

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So unwittingly, my brother got keen on pole vaulting. At trainings he spared no efforts, willing toachieve the results of his peers as soon as possible.Year by year he added one metre to his previousyear's results. His diligence and determinationsoon let him show the best results in the group, andhe was the first one in our Coach's group to qualifyfor Master of Sport. He became a bronze medallistat the World Indoor Games of 1985, a silver medallist at the European Championships of 1986.At the World Championships of 1993 he ranked 9th with the result of 5 metres 70 centimetres. In 1985 he became the Champion of the USSR, in 1994 and 1996 � the Champion of Ukraine.

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In 1979 there was a turning point in ourlives. Our Coach was offered good conditionsfor training pole�vaulters in Donetsk and heagreed to move. Following him, we moved toDonetsk. Our Mother let us fly out of the nestwith a sore and uneasy heart. After all, mybrother was 18, and I was only 15. Then she said: "Go, son. You will not do withoutit." I remember walking down the railway platform: my brother was carrying a suitcase with books and my stuff, and Mum was giving us her last guidance.

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It was not a far trip � only four hours, but infact we were heading towards a new adult life. My destiny could have been different if mybrother had not influenced my sport life and hadnot become my reliable support when wemoved to the strange and unknown Donetsk.And if pole�vaulting was destined to become ourfamily sport, then my brother is to be consideredthe founder of the "dynasty", not me.

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Gradually we got used to independence: we lived in a dorm, tookcare of ourselves. I was the first one toget up, heated up our breakfast in thecommon kitchen and rushed to school.My brother took on the cooking duty,and I bought and delivered groceries. At first money was scarce with us, so we had to save expenses. From our childhood we were not used to live in excess, so we tried to follow theprinciple of sensible needs in everything. We had to attend to ourselves: buy groceries, cook, dolaundry, iron, clean the room, inother words, to grow up. Those were difficult years for both of us, but they made us stronger.

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I continued my studies at Donetsk SchoolNo. 57. There I soon got on the inside, because, I believe, we had much in common with my classmates. We were united in our love for sports,which had been instilled by our PE teacher.Sometimes I had to do my homework in a trolleybus on my way from school to the stadiumand from the stadium to the dorm. Humanities:History, Literature came easily to me. The schoolprincipal who taught History in our class wonderedwhy I paid so much attention to pole�vaulting. He was convinced that I could make a career of a great historian. My secondary school diploma showed only good marks.

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My training schedule was very tight.But for achieving the desired results not only ahard work was needed. It was important tokeep regular hours and follow a meal plan.We remembered well a piece of advice by thefamous doctor Nikolai Amosov � never to beafraid of hunger � and up to now we take itvery seriously. As being overweight for a pole�vaulter is the same big problem as for a gymnast or a ballet dancer. Strenuous physicalexertion requires from an athlete a permanentand mandatory compliance with a clear dailyroutine, proper distribution of time as for work,leisure, food and sleep. An efficient self�organisation is a prerequisite of each person who wants to succeed.

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If you are in good shape, nothing is in yourway. And it is quite a different story if you are tiredand drained. How to train in such condition? Thenmy Coach came to help. He not only trained me tojump correctly, but he taught me the attitude of winning. In summer 1980 I qualified for Master of Sport,clearing 5 metres 10 centimetres, and then I firstbecame the winner of the Country's Championshipamong juniors.

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In 1983 Helsinki, the capital of Finland, hostedthe first in history World Athletics Championships.At the age of 19 I was entrusted to defend the honour of our country. Helsinki Championshipsturned out to be as lucky for me as for the Sovietathletes who had competed at the Games of the XV Olympiad. I managed to leave strongestcompetitors behind and to win the champion's title, clearing the bar at the height of 5 metres 70 centimetres.

In the same year I set all sixrecords in sports arenas of Paris,London, Rome, Vilnius, Milan and Los Angeles.

The year of 1984 was a big success for me. InBratislava I set my first world record � 5 metres 85 centimetres. After I had started my run�up, I had athought: I will definitely clear this height. Then for 5 metres of my running�up I was somehow distracted.And then I tried to fulfil it all technically correct. I thoughtonly of making a good take�off and prepared myself forthe moment when I had to perform everything with ahigh precision. This record turned out to be very important for me psychologically.

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World Indoor Championships in Athletics werethe favourite projects of the IAAF Ex�President PrimoNebiolo. In 1985 the first Championshipthe the washeld in Palais Omnisports de Paris�Bercy in Paris, thecapital of France. I was delighted to hear President'swords that the success of these competitions wasensured to a large extent by brilliant performances and victories of Marita Koch, JavierSotomayor, Patrik Sjoberg and mine. Afterwardsthroughout my whole career I felt support and cordialliking from this outstanding man.

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Each competition remains memorable to me. Butthe most precious one is the pole�vault at Jean BouinStadium in Paris on July 13, 1985 when I succeeded inwhat had seemed impossible before � becoming the firstman in the world to clear the six�metre height. Of course,I was on top of my physical shape. The birth of my firstson on July 9 could have also elicited my emotions andencouraged me. I cleared 5 metres 70 centimetres on my first attempt.It was enough to win, and then I made an extraordinarydecision. I just thought: "Why jumping 5 metres 90 centimetres, why clearing some intermediary height? I'lljust set the bar at 6 metres. "I cleared it on my thirdattempt. It created a sensation. The press wrote that mypole�vault was comparable with the flight of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, that "Bubka conquered Bastille"(the event took place the day before the Bastille Day).

A giraffe is one ofthe tallest mammals.Its average height is

from 4.8 to 6metres.

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I would like to say a few words about my Coach VitalyPetrov, whose farsightedness could be compared with the wisdom of a gardener who is in no hurry to pick an immaturefruit. He did not hustle me into choosing my specialisation.He understood the necessity of multifaceted and systematictraining of an athlete. Together we were gaining a qualityobligatory in top sports � patience. From the very first steps he taught us to strive for excellence in sports. I adhered to this wisdom not only throughout my competitive career but in my whole life. We were like two interconnected vessels � the ones shown in textbooks on Physics: everything that he developed in himselfas a sports educator was immediately transferred to me as ifobliged by a natural law. I wended my way through life as my way was enlightened by his coaching knowledge, intuition and life experience.

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New sporting achievements were ahead of me � the Games of the XXIV Olympiad of 1988 in Seoulwere approaching. They set new tasks for us. That yeara competitive season started for me later than usual � inJuly. At the beginning of the season I managed to setnew world records � first in Bratislava at 6 metres 05centimetres and later in Nice at 6 metres 06 centimetres.But staying on the verge of my abilities for a long periodof time was impossible. That is why after a weekly rest I put aside my pole and focused on general physicaltraining � I ran in the forest, on sand, did some barbellexercises. In the meanwhile I studied new models ofpoles.

1988. The Games of the XXIV Olympiadin Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea. Fifteenpole�vaulters were admitted to the competition forthe Olympic medals. Among my competitors therewere many of my good friends, elite pole�vaulters. A strong squally wind got up before my final attempt,but I stroke the right moment between its gusts andstarted on the run�up track… I said to myself: "Now,this moment � or never!" and the height was cleared.I understood it right in my flight and exclaimed withjoy: "Victory!"

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My victory was twice as joyful. First,my Olympic medal was awarded to me bythe President of International Association ofAthletics Federations Primo Nebiolo in person. And second, my teammates RodionGataullin and Grigoriy Yegorov stoodbeside me on the Olympic podium. I was overwhelmed with joy when I learnedthat the President of the InternationalOlympic Committee Juan AntonioSamaranch, who had carefully followed myperformances for a long time, rejoiced at my success and provided me with a good true�life guidance. In an interview he calledme the most outstanding athlete of the modern era.

Throughout my competitive career I mounted the top tier of the WorldChampionships for six times in 1983, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997. At the World Championships of 1991 in Tokyo (Japan) I won with a humble result of 5 metres 95 centimetres as for me.However, the video analysis of the pole�vault showed that my winning attempt had a potential of clearing 6 metres 37 centimetres.

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My last indoor record of 6 metres 15 centimetres was set on February 21, 1993 inmy hometown of Donetsk. This height had notbeen cleared for 21 years afterwards. And myrecord of 6 metres 14 centimetres set in 1994 atthe stadium of the Italian Sestriere has not been beaten up to this day. Out of 35 world recordsset by me the most memorable one is clearing the six�metre height.

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When Juan Antonio Samaranch was elected President of the International OlympicCommittee, the Olympic movement underwentgreat changes. One of which was that the word"athlete" no longer meant only a person doingsports but a profession as well, the same as being a teacher, a doctor, an engineer, a minerand many others. Professional athletes receivedan opportunity to take part in Olympic Games. I was among first Soviet athletes who obtained a profession of an athlete and started receivingmaterial remuneration for their work. I could not but remember those uneasy

conditions, in which I had been growing up and training, in whichmy Coach and many of his colleagues had been working.I longed to make their labour easier and to make their lives better. This is how an idea of creating a sports club which wouldprovide decent training conditionsfor young athletes and their teachers emerged. In 1990 mydream came true: Sergey BubkaSports Club was opened in Donetsk.

Sometimes I think that I could have hadfewer victories and record pole�vaults if not formy family � my wife Lilia, my sons Vitaly andSergey. We have an athletic family: Lilia is arhythmic gymnastics coach, and our sons havechosen tennis as their favourite sport. They allare my most devoted fans following all of myachievements, cheering for me at stadiumstands or in front of a TV�set, creating a properworking environment, delivering advice, supporting me in the hour of need, rejoicingover my victories with all their hearts. As it is so important being understood and together for better or worse. And for that I am very much grateful to them.

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Sports came into my life in my childhood and stayed in it for ever. I never saw myself out of sports, its battles, joys and sorrows. Doing what I enjoyed doing, I often thought of my future, of a coaching career. I earned a degree from one of the country's best sports educational institutions � Kiev State Institute of Physical Education. I was proud that suchgreat athletes, Olympic champions: Larisa Latynina, Boris Shakhlin, ViktorTsybulenko, Vladimir Golubnichiy, Valery Borzov, Anatoly Bondarchuk, Yuriy Sedykh and many others studied there. Its graduates won 111 gold, 78 silver and 87 bronze Olympic medals.

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Working with international sports organisations made me realizethe acute necessity for deep studies of the history and the modern state ofthe Olympic movement and sports for all. From the moment I became a member of the Athletes' Commission of theInternational Olympic Committee, I tried to balance all aspects of myactivities with education and scientific research. In 2001 I defended a PhD thesis on problems of student sports and in2014 � a doctoral thesis on the history and development of the Olympicmovement.

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I certainly realized that the day to part withpole�vaulting would come sooner or later, but I delayed the moment as much as I could.However, after the Olympic Games in Sydney(2000) I decided to leave sport. The farewell ceremony took place in February 2001 at PoleVault Stars Tournament in Donetsk. There I appeared in my competition uniform in front ofthe audience for the last time. Cheered by myfans' applause, I took off my spiked boots,zipped my pole into a bag and surrounded byyoung pole�vaulters, who took up the symbolicbaton from me, left the pole�vaulting sector.

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I always had a kind of admiring envy that insome sports they held their prestigious tourna�ments: Grand Slam tournaments in tennis, theIIHF Continental Cup in hockey, Tour de Francein cycling… In 1990 a concept of Pole Vault StarsTournament was born. The tournament gained atremendous popularity and fame all over theworld. Annually it gathers strongest pole�vaultersof the world and is believed to be the unofficialworld pole�vaulting championship.

The progress of my competitive careercoincided with the period in office of thePresident of the International OlympicCommittee Juan Antonio Samaranch, aman of many accomplishments and great enthusiasm, who turned the OlympicGames into the brightest event of the modern age. The ideas put into practice by Samaranch inspired me, which in theend led to my election as IOC member,Chairman of the Athletes' Commission of the IOC, and later on Member of the Executive Committee of the IOC.

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I am committed to the Olympic movement. Sport is my life. I was keen on it when I was an athlete and afterwardswhen I started working at executive administrative positions. I consider myself a very happy man as I have discovered the world of sports formyself. I owe it a lot and I am glad that I can serve it.

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On july 23, 2005 in the auditorium of the University, where I had received my education, I was vested with a high and honourable confidence � I was elected President of the NationalOlympic Committee of Ukraine. For many people the NOC is associated with the OlympicGames. I would like to remark that participation in the OlympicGames is the summit to be conquered for millions of athletes from the very young age. Ukrainian athletes represent their country with honour at these sporting forums. But this is only one of our priorities. We pay much attention topromotion of sports, a healthy lifestyle, to involving children,young people and the rest of the society into sports activities.

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We do a great scope of work to develop and implementcultural and educational programmes, which help our youngergeneration form their best human qualities, introduce them to thenational and world cultures, acquaint them with the historic heritage of the Olympic movement and the Olympic values. In our activities we prioritize ethical values and the philosophy of a "fair play". We help athletes who have left sports get settled inthe society. We take care of sports veterans. The world community sets a high value on our achievements: theNOC of Ukraine was recognized as one of the leaders in theworld for its promotion of sports and the Olympic values.

It's been a long time since then. Today I participate in largest track and field competitions of the planet but already as an official. Many of my friends and colleagues � IrenaSzewinska, Alberto Juantorena, Stefka Kostadinova,Nawal El�Moutawakel and many others � went thesame way after leaving sports and staying in the service of the "Queen of Sports". Friendly relations and constant contacts with themhelped me feel comfortable with the environment and actively contribute to the development of myfavourite sport, promote its popularity in the worldand training of young athletes.

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After retirement I thought I would be able to forget athletics with my 25�year recordof a back�breaking labour and will do some�thing different. But the passion for my sporthas become my second nature. I decided toengage myself with athletics but in the otherrole. In 2001 I was elected member of the Councilof the International Association of AthleticsFederations (IAAF), one of the most influentialorganizations in the world sports. I have beenthe IAAF Vice President since 2007.

I am a perfectionist and I always strive forone thing � a victory. And in order to win at thehighest level one has to commit oneself to theobjective in full. And sometimes a sacrifice isneeded in the name of an ambitious goal. To surpass oneself is one of the highest goals fora person in sports and, I suppose, in any othercreative activity.

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It is a great pleasure for me to see if my counselling of gifted and talented athletes helpsthem achieve success and gain victories.

To achieve such goal in sport, besidesthe talent one requires more: asceticism and willingness to endure hardships with dignity forthe sake of high�end, to give up voluntarilymany temptations of life. In sports, as in anyother spheres of life, it is necessary, first of all,to learn to overcome your weaknesses. To winevery day, including weekends and holidays.

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No matter how hard your life may be,wherever your destiny may bring you to, neverstop on the way to the goal you have or set.Nothing is impossible to a person if he or shebelieves in his or her strengths. Win! Win yourself! Win your worthy opponents in fair competitions! This is what a true humanhappiness is!

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The Edition of the International Centre for the Olympic Studies and Education

Flying Bubka. — К.: Оlymp. Lit., 2015. — 48 p.ISBN 978�966�2419�06�1

The edition used the memories of an outstanding athlete of our time Sergey Bubka andthe materials from his personal archive.

ISBN 978�966�2419�06�1