Sergey Bubka

Ukrainian pole vaulter widely considered the greatest in history, who set the world record 35 times and was the first person to clear both six metres and 20 feet.

Born on 14 December 1963 in Voroshilovgrad (now Luhansk), Ukraine, in the Soviet Union, Sergey Bubka took up athletics at age nine, initially as a sprinter and long jumper, before switching to pole vault a year later under coach Vitaly Petrov. He burst onto the international scene by winning gold at the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki in 1983, aged 19. Bubka pioneered the 'Petrov/Bubka' technique, gripping the pole higher than his rivals to generate greater height, and set his first world record in May 1984. On 13 July 1985 in Paris, he became the first pole vaulter to clear six metres, a height long considered beyond human reach, and went on to become the only athlete in any event to win six consecutive world titles, taking gold at every World Championships from 1983 to 1997. Despite his overwhelming dominance, Olympic success eluded Bubka: after missing the boycotted 1984 Games, he won gold at Seoul 1988 with 5.90m, but then suffered no-heights or injuries at the next three Olympics. In August 1991, he became the first vaulter to clear 20 feet (6.10m), and in February 1993 set his final and enduring world record of 6.15m indoors, which stood for almost 21 years until Renaud Lavillenie in 2014. His outdoor record of 6.14m, set in 1994, stood until Armand Duplantis surpassed it in 2020. Across his 18-year career, Bubka broke the world record 35 times — 17 outdoors and 18 indoors — deliberately breaking it by just a centimetre at a time to maximise sponsor bonus payments. He retired in 2001 to pursue sports administration, becoming an IOC member and a leading figure in Ukrainian and international athletics governance.

Technically innovative vaulting using the high-grip 'Petrov/Bubka' technique

Widely regarded as the greatest pole vaulter in history