08.02.2010

Hooker makes competitive return in Perth

Reigning world, Olympic and Commonwealth pole vault champion Steve Hooker has made his competitive return to track and field at the brand-new WA Athletics Stadium.
 
Following a personal best jump of 5.61m off just eight steps seven days earlier, 30-year-old Hooker competed in a pole vault event running concurrently with a WA Little Athletics multi-event held in breezy conditions in Perth on Sunday afternoon.
 
The reigning world champion was quietly confident of jumping well in his first serious hit-out since his remarkable win at the world titles in Berlin last year.
 
Hooker entered the competition at 5.50m and didn't leave the ground on his first two attempts before sailing over the bar with his third jump to get the crowd excited.
 
After raising the bar to 5.70m, five centimetres beyond the Commonwealth Games A-qualifying standard, Hooker comfortably cleared the bar on his second attempt to rapturous applause.
 
The WAIS athlete had no hesitation in requesting an elevation to 5.90m, the height he cleared with just one jump to win gold in Berlin. The combination of a blustery wind and new run-up meant he failed to clear the height but Hooker was philosophical about his first competitive run of the year.
 
“(The) adrenaline and intensity always makes it a bit difficult and it's always tricky to find your rhythm in the first competition back but it was good to string together a couple of good jumps,” Hooker said.
 
The Beijing gold medallist told the West Australian the new stadium was a fantastic facility that would provide a great spectacle when the Australian track and field championships and Commonwealth Games selection trials hit town in April.
 
Hooker said he was feeling positive about the new heights he could reach in 2010.
 
“I know I will be jumping higher because I’m in good shape and I was running fast even though that is hard to control in your first competition back,” he said.
 
Hooker clocked 10.82 over 100m at an inter-club event at the WA Stadium on January 8. In the same race Australian 100m record-holder Patrick Johnson ran a then-season’s best time of 10.36, before posting Australia’s leading time for 2010 with 10.35 at the same stadium a week later.

With thanks to Alex Malcolm