Further Information 

Competition Stats

 

 

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Pole vault: 1996 – 1st (U18) 2nd (U20), 1997 – 1st (U18) 1st (U20) 2nd (open), 1998 – 1st (U20) 3rd (open), 1999 - 2nd, 2000 - 1st, 1st (Olympic Trials), 2001 – 2nd, 2002 – 1st, 2003 – 3rd, 2004 – 5th, 2005 - 1st, 2006 – 1st, 2007 - 4th (2nd Australian)

INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Commonwealth Games: 1998 – 2nd (5.50m), 2002 – 2nd (5.70m), 2006 – NH
Olympic Games: 2000 - qual round (5.55m), 2004 – 11th 5.55m (qual 5.70m), 2008 – qual round (5.55m)
World Cup: 1998 – 7th, 2002 5th (5.20m)
World junior championships: 1996 – 1st, 1998 equal 3rd (5.20m)
East Asian Games: 2001 – 2nd (5.50m)
World indoor championships: 2003 - NH, 2004 - qual round (5.45m)
World championships: 2005 - withdrew injured, 2007 - qual round (5.40m)

ANNUAL PROGRESSION:

1994 3.90m
1995 5.25m
1996 5.35m
1997 5.51m
1998 5.60m
1999 5.50m
2000 5.60m
2001 5.71m
2002 5.75m
2003 5.55m
2004 5.77m
2005 6.00m
2006 5.92m
2007 5.91m
2008 5.61m

EVENTS/PERSONAL BESTS:
Pole vault: 6.00m - Perth, 26/02/05

RECORD(S):
National Indoor record - pole vault: 5.80m - Donetsk (UKR), 12/02/06
Australian Allcomers record - pole vault: 6.00m - Perth, 26/02/05
National Under 20 record - pole vault: 5.60m - Perth, 7/02/98

 

Interesting Facts

Paul won a silver medal as a 13-year-old at the national gymnastics championships. His hobbies include surfing and playing the guitar. His coach Alex Parnov has a pole vault PB of 5.82m, which ranked him sixth in the world in 1985.

Sporting Career

1996 - Paul broke onto the international stage with one of the great results of the 1996 Sydney world junior championships, clearing a personal best height of 5.35m and winning the gold medal in a boil-over.

1998 - In defence of his world junior title Paul managed to finish equal third before going on to win a controversial and belated Commonwealth silver in Kuala Lumpur, after originally finishing third.

2000 - A surprise winner of the pole vault at the 2000 Olympic selection trials Paul secured his place in the Australian team for the Sydney Games, missing out on a spot in the final after a clearance of 5.55m in the qualifying round.

2001 - Claimed silver in the pole vault at the East Asian Games.

2002 - A month after raising his personal best to 5.75m, Paul won his second national title, then added to his fine championship record by claiming another silver in the vault at the Manchester Commonwealth Games.

2003/04 - Opted not to pursue the 2003 world championships and marked the start of an absence in any world senior championships until 2007. A good 2003/04 domestic season ended disappointingly with a fifth placing in the nationals and a non-finals qualifying vault of 5.45m at the world indoor championships in March, 2004. Paul prepared well for the Athens Olympics, primarily at home, only once vaulting below 5.60m and reaching a new personal best of 5.77m. At the Games he was the sole Australian to qualify for the final with an excellent qualifying round vault of 5.70m, eventually finishing 11th with 5.55m.

2005 - The next domestic season was even better for Paul, clearing 5.91m, 5.95m and 6.00m. The latter promoted him to the exclusive vaulters’ 'six-metre club' and to No. 8 on the world all-time list. He won a third national title in March but injured his calf prior to entering the 2005 Helsinki world championships village and withdrew from the team.

2006 - Resuming competition in December of 2005, Paul hit top form by late January and retained his national title in Sydney with 5.80m, then won a major international indoor vault a week later in the Ukraine with 5.80m. A no-height brought bitter disappointment at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March. Things were again on the up later in the year as Paul produced his most successful 2006 European season, highlighted by wins in Mannheim and Rome and then at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart with 5.82m, ending the year as world No. 2 on the IAAF rankings behind countryman Steve Hooker.

2007 - The year started well for Paul with a 5.91m effort in his hometown of Perth, however the remainder of the Australian domestic season brought mixed results. Another win in Donetsk and a European outdoor tour - which included victory in Mannheim - preceded his first world championships appearance. In Osaka, Burgess was unsettled and fell victim to the fickle nature of his event and, despite going in well-ranked, missed out on qualifying for the final.

Post-Osaka was a quiet time for 'Budgie'. After missing the Australian summer for an operation on his injured achilles, he journeyed to Europe and on June 15 recorded an Olympic B-qualifier, showing a return to fitness and form. The return to form would be enough to secure his place on the Olympic team bound for Beijing.

2008 - Paul cleared 5.45m on his first attempt after passing the first two heights. He went on to clear 5.55m on his second attempt and that is where he exited the pool placing equal sixteenth in the overall standings.

2009 - Missed the national championships and although selected to the world championships team bound for Berlin, was forced to withdraw due to injury.