Seville feels the absence of Bubka

The Ukrainian veteran, out injured this time, commands such respect among his toughest challengers that the issue of succession wasn’t considered appropriate on the eve of qualifying in Seville.

“If he would be here then we could succeed him,” said Maksim Tarasov, long accustomed to playing second-best to Bubka. “If one of us will win seven World titles, then it is a succession.”

If it weren’t for Bubka, Tarasov would be a two-time World champion and the World record holder.

“He is Jordanesque in the sense that he is the greatest,” said American vaulter Jeff Hartwig, comparing Bubka with retired basketball superstar Michael Jordan.

“We will all be compared to Sergei,” the US record holder said. “Until somebodysurpasses his record, we will all be judged by the standard he set.”

The sport has become considerably tighter of late, with about half a dozen vaulters capable of topping six metres, a height long the sole domain of Bubka.

Tarasov vaulted 6.05 in Athens in June, still 9cm off Bubka’s mark. Hartwig set a US record of 6.02 this season, and Galfione scaled six metres to become World indoor champion last winter.

It sets up a great competition for Thursday’s final.

But even when discussing opposing styles, the issue of Bubka keeps popping up.

“We used to learn the Sergei way’ of jumping,” said Tarasov, going back in time to the Soviet days. “It means most of the jump is made on the runway and then,” he said, searching desperately for the right words, “how shall I say, you just fly over the bar.”

Bubka, 35, pulled out of these championships with an ankle injury.

Two years ago, he brought a flat World Championships alive late on the final day, overcoming an achilles tendon injury to claim thegold. The defining moment of those championships was an exhausted Bubka sitting on the bench, holding up six fingers.

Now, the new crop looks poised to take over from the aging Bubka, and Tarasov expects the deciding height to be at 6.02 on Thursday.

But don’t count Bubka out just yet when it comes to next year’s Sydney Olympics.

“It is scary to think of this but after everything he has accomplished he is still motivated to compete,” Hartwig said.

The Olympics remain perhaps the lone source of motivation for the accomplished Bubka.

The Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, he failed to clear a single vault in qualifying at the 1992 Olympics, and hurt his achilles while warming up in Atlanta three years ago.

He did take the gold at the Seoul Olympics in 1998, but Bubka is a man used to counting his achievements in multiples.