Alex Parnov knows a good pole vaulter when he sees one. Back in 1983, he saw a very good one. Parnov had qualified for the Russian World Championship team, but the Russian federation had other ideas and asked him to give up his spot to a promising 19-year-old. Parnov saw the teenager’s potential – so he stood aside. The youngster went to Helsinki and won gold, kick-starting a career that would reach uncharted heights. His name? Sergey Bubka. Parnov, who moved Down Under in 1996, has coached Australian world champion Dimitri Markov, former world record-holder Emma George and Olympic silver medalist Tatiana Grigorieva. He now mentors another very good pole vaulter, and one getting ever closer to Bubka’s 15-year-old world record. His charge, Steve Hooker, says simply: ‘‘He is the world’s greatest pole vault coach ... a freak.’’ Michael Cowley
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