Today at 12:01
He started his sports career in his native city of Luhansk. At the age of 19, Bubka cleared five meters 85 centimeters and set his first world record. By the age of 31, he broke world records for men’s pole vault 35 times. He has been the current outdoor world record holder at 6.14 meters for 25 years.
These outstanding achievements made Bubka an extremely famous athlete and a Ferrari car owner. Bubka, who is a six-fold world champion, has been the Head of Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee for 14 years now. He continues to inspire athletes.
“This is my granddaughter Alisa. This is her first run. We will have a little run with your granddad, right? Give me your hand and let’s run,” he said.
Bubka’s colleagues decided to mark the 25th anniversary of his record in a rather creative way. They took to social media and asked both young athletes and Olympic medalists to gather near Olympic Stadium in Kyiv. Their dress code was a white T-shirt, and a password is 6.14.
“We came up with this idea to congratulate Serhiy Bubka and mark the day when his record was set 25 years ago. No one managed to beat this record in 25 years! I think he will be pleased with our idea,” two-time Olympic champion in rowing Svitlana Maziy said.
“I was not even born when Serhiy Bubka had set his record. We really wanted to celebrate it. Some athletes were close to 6-meters-14 centimeters, but no one managed to beat his record. It is very cool!” Skeleton racer at 2018 Olympic games Vladyslav Heraskevych said.
The athletes formed a figure of 6.14 — that is Serhiy Bubka’s record. This ‘gift’ was presented along with a loud chanting “We are proud of you!”
“What does it mean to win an international competition? This means that our flag is hoisted and the national anthem is played. The whole world is getting to know that there is Ukraine, and it is not just a place on a map. The whole world discovers our great athletes,” 1992 Olympic champion in saber fencing Vadym Hutsayt said.
