I certainly realized that the day to part with
pole vaulting would come sooner or later, but I delayed the moment as much as I could. However, after the Olympic Games in Sydney (2000) I decided to leave sport. The farewell ceremony took place in February 2001 at Pole Vault Stars Tournament in Donetsk. There I appeared in my competition uniform in front of the audience for the last time. Cheered by my fans' applause, I took off my spiked boots, zipped my pole into a bag and surrounded by young pole vaulters, who took up the symbolic baton from me, left the pole vaulting sector.
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