A fifth world championships and a fifth world title for Sergey Bubka. This time, he needed only three jumps in the final. The first was a failure at 5.70, after which he adjusted the uprights by about 15cm. He cleared on his second attempt, and re-
entered the contest at 5.92, which he made first time with plenty to spare. Three other men also attempted that height; all were unsuccessful though Brits was near. Bubka then went for 6.15 and was close on his third attempt.
“I kept the run-up the same for the first two attempts. That was a stupid mistake,” explained Bubka. “I knew I was in really good condition and I expected a world record, but I didn’t beat myself inside, so it’s my fault”.