I Began With Track And Field Because

I Decided To Create A Sports Club During The Soviet Times. It Was My Dream.

I Love The Pole Vault Because It Is A Professor's Sport. One Must Not Only Run And Jump, But One Must Think. Which Pole To Use, Which Height To Jump, Which Strategy To Use. I Love It Because The Results Are Immediate And The Strongest Is The Winner. Everyone Knows It. In Everyday Life That Is Difficult To Prove.

The Strategy Of My Coach And Me Was That We Looked At Pictures Of All The Best Pole Vaulters From Around The World, And We Took The Best Parts From Them, And We Created A Person That Had Never Existed. We Then Started To Work Toward Being Such A Person.

First Do It, Then Say It.

I Am Alone, Some People Help Me, But, Basically, I Can Do What I Want.