Bubka Leaps to Pole Vault World Mark : Soviet Clears 19-10 1/2 to Surpass Record for His Ninth Time

Sergei Bubka of the Soviet Union broke his own world record in the pole vault for the ninth time with an effort of 19 feet 10 1/2 inches Sunday at the Nikaia Grand Prix track and field meet.

Bubka then failed three times to become the first person to clear 20 feet.

He made 19-10 1/2 on his first try when he cleared the bar by nearly 2 inches.

Bubka, a two-time world champion, set the previous record of 19-10 at a meet in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia June 9.

He tried three times at 20-0 but failed as twilight closed in.

“I think it felt OK,” Bubka said. “I decided yesterday to do the world record, just as in Bratislava.”

Bubka said he was bothered by soreness in his left ankle.

“It bothered me before tonight and it bothered me a little as the night went on,” he said.

Ten days ago at the World Games in Helsinki, Bubka apologized for winning the pole vault with an 18-8 leap. It was the same height he cleared to win the 1983 World Games as a relatively unknown 19- year-old.

“It’s terrible. I’m sorry,” he told reporters of his effort at Helsinki.

But the Helsinki meet was held in gusting winds, which hampered his vaulting.

Bubka, who has set a world record in France three times, is the only vaulter to clear 19-8, or 6 meters, first doing it in 1985 at Paris.

Bubka easily cleared 18-8 on his first jump. Then he easily cleared 19-2 3/4 on his first try.

Bubka’s performance was one of five outstanding marks Sunday. Said Aouita of Morocco led the way as season bests fell in four races.

Aouita, who holds world records in four events, won the 1,500 meters in 3 minutes 32.69 seconds. He ran his last lap in less than 53 seconds. Denmark’s Mogens Guldberg was a distant second in 3:35.54.

Aouita sprinted away from the field in the last 300 meters to better the previous 1988 best of 3:33.33 by East German Peter Herold.

“I treated it like an Olympic final to test myself in accelerating during the race,” Aouita said. “I was satisfied with the test.

“I was thinking I would finish in about 3:35. I ended up at 3:32. If I had known that I was that fast I would have accelerated earlier.”

Kenyan Peter Koech won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:11.61 to better the previous seasonal best by almost four seconds. Another Kenyan, Patrick Sang, was second in 8:12.

Three Kenyans almost were faster than the previous 1988 best, but Julius Kariuki fell at the last hurdle. He had run the season’s previous fastest time of 8:15.71 Friday in London.

On Sunday he struggled to take fourth when Tunisia’s Fethi Baccouche beat him in the last yards.

Two season bests were set in the women’s races.

In the 1,500 meters, Romanian Paula Ivan coasted home in 4:00.16. Later, Britain’s Yvonne Murray ran away in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:37.22 as Lynn Williams of Canada was second in 8:39.29. Britain’s Liz Lynch-McGolgan was third.

Lynch-McGolgan had upset Norway’s Ingrid Kristiansen last week in the 10,000 meters at the Bislett Games in Norway. Kristiansen was entered at Nice but pulled out of the meet because she is suffering from a benign ovarian tumor.

In the women’s 400, Grace Jackson of Jamaica, a sprinter, beat Ana Quirot of Cuba, an 800-meter specialist, with a time of 49.57. It was the second best time in the world this year. Quirot finished in 49.81.

Britain’s Steve Cram was never in contention in the men’s 800 as he stayed in the middle of the pack throughout the race before making a late bid that fell short.

Another Briton, Tom McKean, won in 1:45.87. Moussa Fall of Senegal was second in 1:46.09. Cram was timed in 1:46.60.

POLE VAULT WORLD RECORD PROGRESSION

Mark Name Country Year 17-11 Wolfgang Nordwig East Germany 1970 18-0 Christos Papanicolaou Greece 1970 18-1 Kjell Isaksson Sweden 1970 18-2 Kjell Isaksson Sweden 1972 18-4* Kjell Isaksson Sweden 1972 18-4* Bob Seagren United States 1972 18-2 1/2 Kjell Isaksson Sweden 1972 18-5 1/2 Bob Seagren United States 1972 18-6 1/2 Dave Roberts United States 1975 18-7 Earl Bell United States 1976 18-8 Dave Roberts United States 1975 18-8 3/4* Mike Tully United States 1978 18-9 Wladyslav Kozakiewicz Poland 1980 18-10 Thierry Vigneron France 1980 18-11 Philippe Houvion France 1980 18-11 1/2 Wladyslav Kozakiewicz Poland 1980 19-0 Thierry Vigneron France 1981 19-1 Pierre Quinon France 1983 19-1 1/2 Thierry Vigneron France 1983 19-2 Sergei Bubka USSR 1984 19-3 1/2 Sergei Bubka USSR 1984 19-4 Sergei Bubka USSR 1984 19-4 3/4 Thierry Vigneron France 1981 19-5 3/4 Sergei Bubka USSR 1984 19-8 Sergei Bubka USSR 1985 19-8 1/2 Sergei Bubka USSR 1986 19-9 Sergei Bubka USSR 1987 19-10 Sergei Bubka USSR 1988 19-10 1/2 Sergei Bubka USSR 1988

*--Mark never ratified by the International Amateur Athletic Federation but considered statistically valid.