Back problems will prevent Sergei Bubka, the...

Back problems will prevent Sergei Bubka, the Soviet Union’s 1988 Olympic gold medalist and world record-holder in the pole vault, from competing in the 1990 Goodwill Games, which start Friday in Seattle.

Bubka, 26, who holds the world mark at 19 feet 10 1/2 inches, participated in Monday night’s Barcelona Invitational meet, where he finished sixth with a vault of 18-1 3/4.

Bubka was coming off a lengthy injury layoff.