Steve Hooker

Steve Hooker

Steve Hooker in 2008
Personal information
Full name Steven Leslie Hooker
Nickname(s) Hooksy
Nationality Australian
Born (1982-07-16) 16 July 1982
Melbourne
Height 187 cm (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)[1]
Weight 75 kg (165 lb)[1]
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event(s) Pole vault
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals 2004 Athens Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
2008 Beijing Pole vault
World Championships
2009 Berlin Pole vault
World Indoor Championships
2010 Doha Pole vault
2008 Valencia Pole vault
Commonwealth Games
2006 Melbourne Pole vault
2010 Delhi Pole vault
World Cup
2006 Athens Pole vault
Continental Cup
2010 Split Pole vault
World Athletics Final
2007 Stuttgart Pole vault

Steven "Steve" Leslie Hooker OAM (born 16 July 1982 in Melbourne, Victoria) 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 third-highest pole vaulter in history,[2] behind Sergey Bubka and Renaud Lavillenie.

Hooker also has a personal best of 10.82 s in 100 m as an amateur sprinter.[3] He ran in the 2010 Stawell Gift.

Career

Hooker 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.

He retired from athletics in April 2014, choosing to focus on his family, his wife Yekaterina Kostetskaya having given birth to their first son, Maxim, in 2013.[9]

Honours

In the January 2009 New Years Honours List, 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".[10]

Personal life

Hooker 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.

Hooker was emotional after victory at the 2009 World Championships

Summary of athletic achievements

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

References

  1. 1 2 Steve Hooker's profile at the IAAF site
  2. ↑ Hooker’s rise continues - 6.06m in Boston
  3. ↑ Steve Hooker to run in Stawell Gift
  4. ↑ "Steve Hooker lives out his Olympic games dream". The Australian. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  5. ↑ Evans, Simon (2008-08-22). "Hooker gives Australia pole gold". Reuters.
  6. ↑ Australian Associated Press (2008-08-23). "Aussie Hooker wins pole vault gold medal". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  7. ↑ Nesha Starcevic (22 August 2009). "Hooker wins pole vault gold at worlds". USATODAY. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  8. ↑ Hooked on Success. Inside Athletics (September 2009 edition). . Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  9. ↑ Australian pole vault star Steve Hooker retires. IAAF (2014-04-12). Retrieved on 2014-04-13.
  10. ↑ "For service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games", It's an Honour, 26 January 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
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