It was one of the ironies of the great Ukrainian's career that, while he could seemingly break the world record at will, he could never win an Olympic gold. But his six World championship titles went rather a long way to making up for that.
By 1997 Bubka was 33 years old and a fading star. But like all true champions he had it in him to summon up a final hurrah.
Waiting at the end of the runway, eyes staring like a madman, he let his concentration build. Letting out three huge bellows, he set off, crowd roaring, and sailed clear with the bar at 6.01m, just 13mm short of his world record.
But while the crowd went wild, Bubka himself seemed strangely unaffected - with not even a smile crossing his face.
''My participation was a big risk because pain in my Achilles tendon was still with me,'' he said later.
''It was not my best title, but it was the most difficult. I had done only three training sessions in pole vault that season, but when I decided to participate, I was going only for the gold."
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