Tarasov vs. Bubka

[altius]

Can you provide more details on exactly who said 6.39, and what his proof is?"

Actually it was Sergey himself who said - at the Jamaica clinic in 2002 - that Japanese sports scientists (and I presume they knew what they were doing) had calculated that he would have cleared 6.40 on the famous jump - and 6.32 and 6.34 on other jumps in that comp. I doubt he would have gone public with that statement had he not been able to back it up if challenged. Now I KNOW that story is correct because I was there and asked him how high he estimated that jump to be - I thought 6.30 and he gently corrected me.

"But didnt tarasov stop jumping after he won meets? he rarely ever went for a pr, he just did what it took to win the meet."

But when Bubby was around he rarely did win the meet! - only when Bubby no heighted in Barcelona I believe. He was trying to at least get second most of the time and surely would have jumped higher then if he could have done so!!! Take a look at the BTB2 chapter dealing with the technical faults of some elite athletes - you will see my analysis of Tarasov's basic problem - although note that I do point out that he had an excellent take off and swing - essentially he lost control during the inversion and was never able to interact efficiently with the pole after that on many, but not all, jumps

[Andy_C]

I would definitely say Bubka had better technique. He has the best overall technique of any vaulter, which has a lot of input into his current position as the WR holder still to this day!

Aside from technique, Bubka also had some "intangible" advantages to Tarasov including mental aggression and just plain bravery.

To that point, I think Bubka's strong mental qualities (together with an incredible confidence in his technique) allowed him to achieve elements of his technique that still have not been seen since. For example, his extension behind the head looks absolutely insane if you don't know what's going on.

Bubka Extension.jpg (42.31 KiB) Viewed 8551 times

Whether or not Tarasov is physically able to do this can be argued since he doesn't have a gymnastic build, but I don't think very many people in the world would be extremely keen on extending at such an extreme angle. I just haven't seen anybody with that kind of confidence in their technique since Bubka.

[kcvault]

Actually it was Sergey himself who said - at the Jamaica clinic in 2002 - that Japanese sports scientists (and I presume they knew what they were doing) had calculated that he would have cleared 6.40 on the famous jump - and 6.32 and 6.34 on other jumps in that comp.

Pole vaulter often clear there pr's by more a foot or more. I dont think they go around saying the pr is a foot higher then what it officially is. Tarasov jumped 6.05 and bubka jumped 6.14 regardless of how much they cleared those heights by.

---Kasey

[KirkB]

Bubka of course. With more than 40 jumps over 6m and a max electronically measured clearance of 6.39m, Tarasov has no chance. ...

Not to be picky, but I'm still in the dark as to where this 6.39m came from?

The 6.40 fable is well-known ... but where did 6.39 come from? It kinda suggests a more accurate "electronic measurement" than "6.40" ... but I'm looking for the source of this number ... so that I can decide whether it's any more or any less reliable than the 6.40 fable.

Kirk

[altius]

so that I can decide whether it's any more or any less reliable than the 6.40 fable. Kirk

You can always take it up with Sergey himself when you get a chance to meet him.

[altius]

I dont think they go around saying the pr is a foot higher then what it officially is. - That is not what he claimed - and he does not go around saying that his pr is 6.40. IF you read my post you will see how this statement came about - it was in response to my incorrect assessment of the height of that jump. The fact is that time and again after breaking HIS OWN world record by one centimetre HE stopped vaulting. This was done for purely commercial reasons - as he explained elsewhere he had to set his family up financially. Oh and Petrov told me in 86 that Bubka was clearing 6.20 BARS in training at that time. I suppose you can discount that statement as well but the fact is he certainly did jump higher than anyone else ever has.

Tarasov was a great athlete and when I saw him jump in the 88 WJS in Sudbury I could not believe his extension at takeoff - but like many other great vaulters he was unlucky to be around at the same time as Bubka.

[golfdane]

At about $50000 for a championship record, do I not blame him for trying to break it up in as many records as possible.

[Lax PV]

I am not really up on my history here. That said, did Bubka ever jump in "unofficial" meets (a mall vault, beach vault etc.) that the mark would not have counted as a WR? If so, why wouldn't he pull the bar up high then?

[starkey480]

because in those kind of meets you get paid to jump very high over lower bars instead of scrape over high bars, (the crowd doesnt know the difference) its more of an entertainment thing than anything