Steven Leslie Hooker OAM (born 16 July 1982) is an Australian former pole vaulter and Olympic gold medalist. His personal best, achieved in 2008, is 6.06 m (19 ft 10 1⁄2 in) making him the fourth-highest pole vaulter in history,[2] behind Sergey Bubka, Renaud Lavillenie and Armand Duplantis.
 Steve Hooker in 2008 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Leslie Hooker |
| Nickname | Hooksy |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | 16 July 1982 Melbourne, Australia |
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)[1] |
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Pole vault |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals | 2004 Athens Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics |
Medal record | |
Hooker was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and has a personal best of 10.82 s in 100 m as an amateur sprinter.[3] He ran in the 2010 Stawell Gift.
Career
editHooker won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a vault of 5.96 metres, setting a new Olympic record, and making him the first Australian male track and field gold medallist in 40 years since Ralph Doubell won the 800 metres in Mexico City in 1968.[4][5][6]
At the 2009 World Athletics Championships, in Berlin, Hooker won the gold medal despite a hamstring injury. On only his second jump, Hooker cleared 5.90 metres, to win the gold medal after missing 5.85 metres on his first attempt.[7][8]
At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Hooker won the gold medal in the pole vault with a vault of 6.01 metres, a championship record.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Hooker won the gold medal in the pole vault.
Hooker competed at the 2012 London Olympics and finished 14th after failing to vault a height in the final.[9]
Hooker joined six-metre club for the first time on 27 January 2008 at an outdoor competition in Perth, Western Australia with a vault of 6.0m.[10] On 7 February 2009, at the Boston Indoor Games he set an Australian indoor record with a vault of 6.06m. Both heights were the Australian record at the time of his retirement.[11]
During his career he was coached by Mark Stewart and Alex Parnov.[10]
He retired from athletics in April 2014, choosing to focus on his family. His wife Yekaterina Kostetskaya gave birth to their first son, Maxim, in 2013,[12] and the couple have since had two more sons.[13]
Honours
editIn the 2009 Australia Day Honours, Steve Hooker was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "For service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games".[14][15] In October 2017, Hooker was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as an athlete member.[10]
Personal life
editHooker attended Greythorn Primary School and Balwyn High School in Balwyn North, Victoria.
His mother Erica Hooker was a 1972 Olympian and a 1978 Commonwealth Games long jump silver medalist. She also won nine national titles. His father Bill represented Australia in the 800 m and 4 x 400 m at the 1974 Commonwealth Games and won four national crowns.
He began his career with the Box Hill Athletic Club. His career started slowly, and he only went professional in 2006. He relocated to Perth, living on a very modest Australian Sports Commission allowance.
Summary of athletic achievements
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Australia
| |||||
| 2000 | World Junior Championships | Santiago, Chile | 4th | 5.20 m | |
| 2006 | Commonwealth Games | Melbourne, Australia | 1st | 5.80 m | |
| World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 5th | 5.75 m | ||
| World Cup | Athens, Greece | 1st | 5.80 m | ||
| 2007 | World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 5.81 m | |
| 2008 | World Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 3rd | 5.80 m | |
| Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 1st | 5.96 m OR | ||
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | 5.90 m | |
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships | Doha, Qatar | 1st | 6.01 m CR | |
| Continental Cup | Split, Croatia | 1st | 5.95 m CR | ||
| Commonwealth Games | New Delhi, India | 1st | 5.60 m | ||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Steve Hooker's profile at the IAAF site
- ^ "Hooker's rise continues - 6.06m in Boston". Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
- ^ "Steve Hooker to run in Stawell Gift". 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
- ^ "Steve Hooker lives out his Olympic games dream". The Australian. 24 August 2009. Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ^ Evans, Simon (22 August 2008). "Hooker gives Australia pole gold". Reuters.
- ^ "Aussie Hooker wins pole vault gold medal". Yahoo Sports. Australian Associated Press. 23 August 2008. Archived from the original on 25 August 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
- ^ Nesha Starcevic (22 August 2009). "Hooker wins pole vault gold at worlds". USA Today. Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ Hooked on Success Archived 27 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Inside Athletics (September 2009 edition). [1] Archived 29 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
- ^ "Steven Hooker". Australian Athletics Historical Results. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ a b c "Steve Hooker's golden record vaults him into Hall of Fame". Sport Australia Hall of Fame website. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ "Steven Hooker". IAAF website. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ Australian pole vault star Steve Hooker retires Archived 14 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF (12 April 2014). Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ "Athletic family hits the heights with love of Richmond". Inner East Review. Australian Community Media. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the General Division (A-E)" (PDF). gg.gov.au. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "For service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games" Archived 12 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine, It's an Honour, 26 January 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
External links
edit
- Steve Hooker at World Athletics
- Steve Hooker personal website
- Steven Hooker at Australian Athletics Historical Results
- Steve Hooker at the Australian Olympic Committee
- Steve Hooker at Olympics.com
- Steve Hooker at Olympedia (archive)
- Steve Hooker at Commonwealth Games Australia
- Steve Hooker at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
- Steve Hooker at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games (archived)
- Steve Hooker at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games (archived)
