Track and Field

Sergei Bubka, who has dominated world pole vaulting for the last decade while competing for the Soviet Union, wants to represent his native Ukraine in upcoming events.

“Why not compete for Ukraine? I think it’s the best solution,” Bubka told the Associated Press in a telephone interview Sunday from his hometown of Donetsk. “I don’t understand why we must be one team of 11 countries.”

Bubka was referring to the 11 republics that formed the Commonwealth of Independent States on Saturday in Alma Ata, Kazakhastan.

Ukraine earlier this week asked the International Olympic Committee to allow it to participate independently in the 1992 Summer and Winter Games, according to a news agency.

“I don’t have much information about a Ukrainian team,” Bubka said.

“It’s a difficult question. But we’ll have a meeting in Kiev on Tuesday. Then I’ll meet our leaders. If Ukraine can’t send its own team to the Winter Games, maybe it will happen for the Summer Games.”