Bubka wary of changes that may put athletes at risk

MUMBAI: Pole vault must evolve if it is to remain relevant as individual sports look for new ways to attract fans but any changes introduced should not be at the expense of athlete safety, former great Sergey Bubka said .

Athletics has been hit hard over the past few years due to corruption and doping scandals and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) chief Seb Coe has said the sport’s governing body was prepared to embrace radical changes to appeal to the next generation.

The 54-year-old Bubka, who won pole vault gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and is a member of the executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said change is essential for track and field events to remain attractive.

“It’s very important today to be progressive,” said Bubka, who is also a senior vice president of the IAAF. “But it’s most important that the crowd love it and enjoy it. Competition between different sports is so big, for that we look for some changes, some innovations, for some improvements and some new ideas in our sport.”

Bubka, who was in the city as the ambassador for the Tata Mumbai Marathon, said strong competition was vital for drawing crowds to the stadiums. The IAAF approved technical changes last year including a reduction in the amount of time given to each athlete for an attempt from 60 seconds to 30 in a bid to make the sport more television friendly.

The changes have not gone down well with some athletes, with London Olympics gold med- allist Renaud Lavillenie, who broke Bubka’s long-standing world record, a strong critic. “I am actually fighting against them, because it is one of the worst ideas I have ever seen,” Lavillenie said last year. Full story @ timesofoman.com/sports