03.06.2009

Hooker on a high in WA

Olympic pole vault champion Steve Hooker is hard at work preparing for his third tilt at world championships glory in Berlin this August, soaring to new heights from the all-new Western Australia Athletics Stadium.

Hooker took time out from his busy training schedule this week to update fans on life at the Mt Claremont facility, where he trains under the guidance of pole vault guru Alex Parnov, just days after the official opening of the world-class track and field precinct.

"As a venue, it’s fantastic. There is a 2000-seat grandstand (named after Shirley Strickland; there is also a Herb Elliott Drive nearby), and room for another 8000 spectators around the grass embankments,” Hooker said.

“It will be a great venue for competitions like the national championships, which in 2010 will also be the New Delhi Commonwealth Games selection trials, and for future meetings of the domestic grand prix series.

"Next year’s national championships will be the first in Perth since 1988 (the Seoul Olympic Games selection trials). Hopefully, it means a new life for athletics in Western Australia.

"The old stadium at Perry Lakes, while it was a good facility for vaulters, was a difficult one to compete in and train for pretty much any other event.

"Perry Lakes was great for pole vault. Paul Burgess and I both cleared six metres there, Emma George set three world records and Brad Walker cleared 5.92m.

"The vault facility at the new stadium is going to be even better. They’ve aligned the track to coincide with the prevailing wind, which is south to southwesterly, so I think it’s going to be even better than Perry Lakes.

"The track is a mondo surface, so it should be faster on the runway. The main track was cinders for the 1962 Commonwealth Games. It had been re-laid with a synthetic surface, but it looked like it could have been 40 years old. The vault runway was not as old but had not been resurfaced for a few years.

"It’s the first time we’ve had an athletics track in WA that’s had lights, so it can host twilight and night competitions which we couldn’t do over here before. That will fit in well with the hot summer weather.

"The state premier, Mr Colin Barnett, officially opened the venue last week. (Berlin representative) Kim Mickle threw the first javelin into the field and there was a 100m race featuring Jody Henry, who has just been selected in the 4x400m relay for the world championships.

"Perth is as good for sprinting as it is for vaulting and with twilight competition, the wind should calm down enough to stay within legal limits for records. It would be cool to see Usain Bolt run there. I don’t know how much that would cost, but I’m pretty sure he could run a world record if the wind stayed right.

"Hopefully this new stadium will help retain kids from Little Athletics all the way through and help the sport continue to have a resurgence in WA."

Hooker will continue to train from his Perth base until his departure for Europe ahead of the 12th IAAF world championships in Berlin from August 8-15.