Bubka’s Olympic breakthrough: Gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Games
Bubka’s journey didn’t end with this historic jump. The native of Luhansk continued to push the boundaries of the sport, repeatedly beating his own records. In 1994, he set a personal best and world record of 6.14m, a record that stood for the next 20 years.
It wasn’t until 2014 that French vaulter Renaud Lavillenie surpassed Bubka’s record by clearing 6.16m indoors, after which the baton was passed to Swedish vaulter Armand Duplantis, who set a new world record of 6.24m in Xiamen in April 2024.
Despite his dominance in the pole vault, Bubka only managed one gold medal in four Olympic appearances – the Soviet boycott almost guaranteed him a gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics – but he took advantage in Seoul in 1988, winning his only Olympic gold medal with just one successful jump.
In 1992, he failed to clear 5.70m at the Barcelona Games, in 1996 he withdrew from the Atlanta Games because of a heel injury, and finally in 2000 at the Sydney Games, he failed to clear 5.70m three times and was eliminated in the qualifying rounds.
Bubka retired in 2001. His career highlights include six World Championship wins, four World Indoor Championship wins, a gold medal at the European Championships and a gold medal at the European Indoor Championships.
