Bubka’s rise to stardom

Sergey Bubka was introduced to athletics at the age of 10 in 1973. He reported to coach Vitaly Petrov but was told to go home. Petrov took in prospects after turning 12 and Bubka was too young. But Bubka persevered, training in long jump and 100-meter sprints. When he dabbled in decathlon, his eyes were opened to pole vault, one of 10 events in the sport. Bubka went back to Petrov who saw his potential and took him in a year later.

With Petrov guiding his path, Bubka focused on pole vault. In 1983, Bubka won his first of 10 world championships. “I owe my career to Vitaly,” said Bubka. “He’s a killer. If you don’t do what he wants, he’ll kill you. He loves competition and hates to lose. Vitaly taught me everything I needed to know to excel.” To this day, Petrov and Bubka like to rib each other in friendly one-upmanship even counting how many children and grandchildren one has over the other. Bubka said if EJ Obiena executes what Petrov lays out, he’ll be an Olympic medalist. His advice to Obiena is to stay the course, work hard, keep motivated and be mentally strong. With Petrov on Obiena’s side, it’s like half the battle won.

Bubka said when the LA Olympics roll out in 2028, Obiena will be 32, the right age to peak. The Ukrainian was 33 when he cleared 6.01 to win gold at the World Championships in Athens in 1997. Bubka retired in 2001 at 38. He then embarked on a career in sports administration and politics. Bubka earned a PhD in pedagogy and physical culture, became a member of the IOC Athletes Commission and in 2005, was named a full IOC member. He ran for IOC president in 2013 but lost to Thomas Bach.

Bubka has lived in Monaco and Switzerland. He expects to spend time in Abu Dhabi supervising the Open Masters Series in 2026 for athletes 30 and over, split into age groups to include even centenarians. He is married to rhythmic gymnastics coach Lilia Tutunik, his wife of 40 years. Their two sons are entrepreneur Vitaly, 39 and former tennis pro Sergei, 37, who is the manager of ATP No. 2 Alexander Zverev.

In July next year, Bubka will be honored in Paris during the 40th anniversary of the world’s first 6.00 jump. He broke the barrier in 1985 and during the recent Olympics, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo briefed him on plans to hold a pole vault exhibition in front of the Eiffel Tower. A sculpture will be unveiled, depicting the historic jump with a bar, pitch and five steel poles in ascending elevation.

Bubka, now 60, was born in Luhansk, Ukraine then moved to Donetsk to join Petrov’s camp. In Donetsk, there is a statue of Bubka holding a pole standing on a 6.15 meter high pedestal to commemorate his personal best. “When I drive by the statue, I don’t look at it,” he said. “They built it to remember my record but I’m superstitious. I actually didn’t like the idea but they went ahead to do it anyway.  It’s for the sport, not for me.”