28.04.2009

Hooker named indoor season's best

The accolades continue to roll in for Aussie pole vault star Steve Hooker, named Indoor Athlete of the Year for the 2008/09 season in Track and Field News magazine.

The international athletics journal rated Hooker the year’s best above European Indoor champs Ivan Ukhov of Russia (high jump) and Briton Dwain Chambers (60m).
 
Track and Field News said:

“Olympic pole vault champ Steve Hooker ventured north from Australia for a quick campaign. He won five meets, the first three all over 6m, with a high in Boston of 6.06m to move to No. 2 of all time. And in four of the meets, the 26-year-old then tried a towering 6.16m, a half-inch above history’s highest leap ever, by Sergey Bubka.”

Hooker’s win is just the latest honour to be added to a growing list of accolades, capped this season with Athlete of the Year and International Athlete of the Year honours bestowed by Athletics Australia and Athletics International. 

Women’s honours went to fellow pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva, who set two world records in her opening meet of the indoor season, the first at 4.97m and then at 5m. The Russian also won the two other meets in which she competed across a brief 11-day season.

Honourable mentions in the women’s field went to Ethiopian distance star Meseret Defar, who set world records over two miles and 5000m, and unbeaten German high jumper Ariane Friedrich.

Distance veteran Bernard Lagat and vaulter Jenn Stuczynski were named US athletes of the indoor season.