Runway Is Finally Cleared for Bubka, Who Goes 19-8 1/4 : Track and field: Pole vault area has to be improvised, but world record-holder wins.

Much is made of the delicate constitution of world class track and field athletes. They are said to be finicky. A cold snap, a puff of wind, a small rock on the track and they are off to the trainer or flat on a massage table.

Not always. At least two athletes in Saturday night’s Sunkist Invitational did what great athletes are expected to do: They rose to the occasion.

Andre Cason sat on a plane for 13 hours, disembarked and very nearly broke the world record at 50 meters. Sergei Bubka sat on a chair in the Sport’s Arena’s infield for 1 1/2 hours while an improvised pole vault runway was assembled.

Each persevered. Cason won the 50 meters and Bubka the pole vault to the delight of 12,422 fans at the Sports Arena.

Cason’s time of 5.62 seconds was .01 from tying the world record of 5.61.

Bubka also barely missed a world record, but little wast smooth for him, particularly the runway. Nevertheless, like Cason, he pushed on. Bubka, the world record-holder indoors and out, won with a vault of 19-8 1/4, the highest ever cleared in this country. Bill Payne, runner-up at the NCAA championships while at Baylor last year, missed three attempts at an American record of 19-4 1/4.

Bubka cleared 19-8 1/4 under the toughest conditions--with no one left in the competition and on his last attempt. Of the 10 vaulters that started, only two kept up with Bubka--Payne and Tim Bright. Payne cleared 19-0 1/4 for second and Bright was third at 18-8 1/4--Bubka’s starting height.

After Bubka’s clearance for the all-comer’s record, the crowd that remained began rhythmically clapping. Bubka then asked that the bar be raised to 20-1 1/4, which would better his world record by a quarter of an inch.

Bubka hit the bar on the way up with his feet on the first attempt. The second attempt was similar.

The third attempt was better, but not good enough.

Problems with the pole vault came early. The bright yellow and orange wooden track was refurbished this year at a cost of $25,000. However, the rubberized surface covering the pole vault runway--used for the first time in last year’s meet--was removed and never replaced.

Thus, Bubka arrived at the meet believing he was to jump on a rubberized runway and brought shoes appropriate for that surface. (Shoe type and spike length vary from surface to surface.)

When the shoe problem was pointed out to meet promoter Al Franken, he paid someone $100 to drive to a store to get a different pair. The shoes arrived, but Bubka refused them because he wears customized shoes because of heel problems.

To remedy the problem on the runway, workers brought an indoor-outdoor carpet from the Coliseum across the street. That plan was scrapped, and a black, rubberized mat was eventually nailed to the elevated wooden runway.

On top of all that, the runway was 15 feet shorter than Bubka requires.

An hour and a half after the scheduled start, the pole vault began.

For Cason, his day began somewhere over the Atlantic. Cason caught a plane in Madrid Friday night, flew to Frankfurt, then took another plane to L.A. and landed only a few hours before the race was scheduled to start.

The race was the last of the indoor season for Cason, and he went out in emphatic fashion. After another runner false-started, Cason was out of the blocks first on the restart, despite slipping on his second step. He led at 10 meters and was never challenged.

Cason leaned near the finish rather than running through the tape, a judgment error that he said cost him the record. However, Cason’s speed brought the rest of the field along, as Davidson Ezinwa of Azusa Pacific and Nigeria finished second in 5.64, an African record. Ben Johnson was fourth in 5.76.

As fast as the race was, the unofficial scoreboard clock displayed a time of 5.47. The crowd gasped as the time appeared and as Cason emerged from the tunnel he ran a victory lap exhorting the fans and holding up two fingers. Two world records? Two hundredths for another?

Cason didn’t say. His sprinting did the talking Saturday night.

For Bubka, the hectic scene at the pole vault was reminiscent of the Millrose Games on Valentine’s Day, 1986. There, Bubka took one look at the wooden runway at Madison Square Garden and pronounced the surface “unacceptable.”

Bubka was joined in his complaints by the other vaulters, who had been calling the whole vaulting area unsafe for years and were glad of Bubka’s added voice. At one point during the competition, Bubka said he was withdrawing. He took off his shoes and put on his sweats.

He was coaxed back but jumped without much interest.

Bubka had the last word. The next week he vaulted at The Times Indoor Games and set a world record. It was the last time, until Saturday, that Bubka could be persuaded to compete in the United States.

Other highlights:

--Michelle Finn equaled the American record in the 50 meters with a time of 6.13. Finn utilized an explosive start and held off the field to win. The time was only .02 seconds off the world record.

--Suzy Hamilton needed a furious finish to win the mile. Her time of 4:32.39 reflected the tactical nature of the race. Hamilton ran down Shelly Steely and Alisa Harvey-Hill on the last straightaway for the win.