Bubka to get hero's farewell in home town Donetsk

Sergei Bubka, the world's greatest pole vaulter, expects a tide of emotion at a farewell meeting in Donetsk on Sunday, site of his world indoor record eight years ago.

"No doubt it won't be easy," Bubka told Reuters by telephone on Friday from the town, a grim mining centre in east Ukraine.

"I will probably have a lump in my throat from all the emotions. Every athlete must live to the day when you say goodbye to the most important thing, which was a part of your life for so many years."

On Sunday, around 5,000 fans will squeeze into the town's Druzhba Sports Palace to bid farewell to their most famous son, although Bubka, himself, will not be competing.

"I don't know what I will say to them but it won't be a prepared speech, one you write on a piece of paper," Bubka said. "It will be an impromptu speech, coming from my heart."

A horde of local politicians and sports officials, including the president of the Ukrainian athletics federation, former Olympic 100 and 200 metres champion Valery Borzov, will bid farewell to Bubka.

They will be joined by another of the country's most famous athletes, AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko.

"Andriy is a very good friend of mine and we both admire each other's talent," said Bubka.

A large TV screen will feature congratulatory messages from IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and Prince Albert of Monaco.

A year ago Bubka was among a handful of athletes voted into the IOC as part of a restructuring of the Olympic movement, rocked by the Salt Lake City corruption scandal.

At last year's Sydney Olympics, where he was forced to retire after a lengthy battle with Achilles injuries, Bubka, who turned 37 two months ago, was re-elected into the IOC.

"I was also the only athlete elected to the IOC's Executive Board," he said. "So working for the IOC will be my main duties and responsibilities for the foreseeable future."

SIMPLY THE BEST

In Sydney, the Ukrainian failed to make the Olympic final after missing three times at his opening height of 5.70 metres.

But despite the disappointment in his final competition, Bubka is still regarded by many as simply the best.

He won an unprecedented six straight world championships, starting from Helsinki in 1983 as an unknown 19-year-old after being included in the powerful Soviet team at the last minute.

His Olympic story is less impressive.

Forced to miss the 1984 Games in Los Angeles because of the Soviet boycott, Bubka snatched the gold four years later in Seoul by clearing the winning height on his final attempt.

Bubka still regards his Seoul performance as one of the best. "I had to fight not only the opponents but the elements as well," he said. "I don't think that many people believed that I could clear the winning height on my last jump."

Four years later in Barcelona Bubka lost his Olympic title to the younger Maxim Tarasov of the Unified team, which replaced the Soviet Union.

The next Olympics, in Atlanta, where Bubka represented an independent Ukraine, were also marred by an Achilles injury.

Still, his achievements in the sport are unparalleled.

He set 35 world records, the last of 6.14 metres coming in Sestriere, Italy in 1994.

Bubka also holds the indoor mark of 6.15, which he set in Donetsk in the very same competition eight years ago.

NOT COMPETING

Bubka has decided not to compete on Sunday.

"Unfortunately, in pole vaulting, unlike in soccer or basketball, you just can't come out of retirement for a couple of hours and play in your farewell game," he said. "Our sport becomes a bit dangerous if you haven't been training properly."

Instead, the competition features some of Bubka's rivals over the years, world and Olympic medallists Radion Gataulin of Russia, Kazakhstan's Grigory Yegorov, Alexander Averbukh of Israel and South Africa's top pole vaulter, Okkerts Brits.

However, last year's winner, American Jeff Hartwig, as well as compatriots Nick Hysong and Lawrence Johnson, who won gold and silver medals in Sydney respectively, are missing.

"It's a pity they couldn't come while guys like Tarasov and (1996 Olympic champion France's Jean) Galfione decided not to compete this indoor season," Bubka said.

"Still, it should be a great competition, one I will be forced to watch entirely from the stands."