Altius, you brought up a lot of different points in your last post. On one level, I know you're just being sarcastic ... but on another level, you really mean what you say ... or what you ask. In every sarcastic remark that ANYONE makes, there's a hint of reality. So I'll assume that you really do want answers to your questions.
You asked for proof of Bubka volzing ... you got proof of Bubka volzing. You asked for proof of athletes who jumped like Bubka before Bubka ... you got proof of athletes who jumped like Bubka before Bubka (the Isaksson vid in the last post).
altius wrote: ... So to summarise what seems to be a common feeling on this board ...
You can exclude me from your generalizations of "feelings on this board". I'm not speaking for anyone but myself ... so be careful not to also assume that this reply is "generic".
I do NOT think that Bubka had a competitive advantage becuz he set his WRs before volzing was banned ... or becuz he used long pegs ... or becuz of the time allowed for each jump ... or becuz he used drugs. People that think that are just a bunch of sour grapes.
I do NOT think he used drugs ... altho I have no idea ... so I assume innocence.
I DO think that he was an EXCEPTIONAL athlete in every sense of the word EXCEPTIONAL ... he was an exceptional sprinter and long jumper, and he had the good fortune to be trained by Petrov from an early age. But more than anything, I think Bubka had the mental toughness and the will to win that most mere mortals lack.
And I DO think that Petrov learned all he could from his fellow Russians, from the Germans, from the French, from the Americans, and from the Swedes. He put this all together into what is now known as the Petrov Model.
To take the high pole carry as a prime example ... Petrov and Bubka did not INVENT that technique ... Isaksson did ... Petrov and Bubka just POPULARIZED it. This fact is irrevocable! If you cannot see this, then there's nothing more that I can say to convince you. You need only to look at Isaksson's vids, and realize that he had a high pole carry in the late 1960s. The vid in this thread does not show his full run, so it's not the vid I'm referring to. Actually, you do not even need a vid for proof of such a simple technique. You only need to listen to American and Swedish PV fans, coaches, and fellow athletes who have TOLD you ... repeatedly ... that Isaksson gets credit as the inventor of the high pole carry. There's even a CANADIAN
that has told you this ... REPEATEDLY. Why would you doubt such a thing? It's COMMON KNOWLEDGE!
You've often asked for proof of someone doing a free takeoff before Bubka. If Isaksson's takeoff in the vid ON THIS THREAD is not a free takeoff, then I don't know what I can tell you ... or show you! This was a WR jump ... not sure which one. But all his WRs were in 1971-72, so the concept of a free takeoff existed at least by then ... 10-15 years BEFORE Bubka! What more proof are you asking for?
altius wrote: Then it would appear that he really did not introduce anything new with his Petrov model. He just confirmed what folk in Canada and the USA were already doing in the 70s. Right?? Strange thing is that we can find film of him voltzing - and there is no doubt he did on that occasion -but we can never find any film to justify the claims that are made repeatedly of athletes who jumped like Bubka before Bubka. Where is the evidence of all of these jumpers using a Petrov model before Petrov -they must be there - i just wish i could see them.
Again ... Isaksson's vids are indisputable. If I had vids of myself, then you KNOW that I would have posted them by now. I posted the only still pics I have ... and I have described my Bryde Bend at length. Why do you still question this? Do you REALLY think that I could just watch Bubka vids and then just SAY that that's how I jumped?
My DEEP understanding of what a Petrov Model jump FEELS like is based 100% on my personal experience in 1971-72 as a vaulter. I did NOT learn the Petrov Model from a book ... in fact, I never read BTB2 until AFTER I posted my Bryde Bend thread.
Almost 100% of my posts are from the viewpoint of the "feeling" that I felt when I vaulted in 1971-72. I did not learn ANYTHING about PV technique between 1975 and 2005 (or so). Short of a couple still pics in newspapers of Bubka setting WRs ... and a couple Canadian meets, I did not even watch any vaulters in that 30 year span! When I posted the Bryde Bend thread, I was going entirely by memory of my technique from the 1970s. Short of posting vids, I think I've been fairly clear and accurate about how I jumped back then.
altius wrote: I also wonder why the Canadian record is only 5.61 ...
If that's a serious question, then I'll give you a serious answer. It's becuz Canada has 10% of the population of the USA, and to break the Canadian record, you need to attend an American university. The support system for a 5.80+ Canadian vaulter just doesn't exist in Canada. Also, most good Canadian athletes take the hockey route to riches and stardom.
altius wrote: Did the folk who knew all this stuff not feel it worthwhile to share it???
If you're asking why I didn't become a Canadian PV coach ... the answer is that I did for a couple years after university. I conducted a couple (maybe 3) PV coaching clinics around British Columbia ... and then retired from active coaching in about 1975. Why? Becuz coaching was a 100% voluntary position, I was married and started a young family, I had to earn a living, and I found other interests ... like basketball and skiing ... that I enjoyed more than coaching PV. When my kids were growing up, my time was spent at lacrosse rinks, soccer fields, basketball courts, and on the ski hills. When my youngest son became a teenager, I spent a lot of time in the gym ... supporting his trampoline career. Quite frankly, if anyone had ever asked, I would have been happy to share my knowledge.
Until about 2005, I had no idea that my technique was similar to Bubka's. My communications with Pat Licari re Brad Walker were the first that I discovered what modern techniques were in existence ... and how my technique compared to others. After that, it was only after YOU posed the question ... re "Bubka before Bubka" ... that I realized the similarities in our techniques. Thus the Bryde Bend thread ... with excerpts of my emails to Licari. Indisputable. Irrevocable.
altius wrote: But clearly some of you folk have been keeping all this good stuff to yourselves. Not very professional of you.
I think we ALL need to keep our professional heads held high ... and not stoop to in-fighting. After all, we all have a common love of the sport of pole vaulting ... we're ALL in this together!
Kirk