Runway Snafu Angers Bubka : Pole vault: World record-holder says he will never compete in L.A. again after broken promise by Franken.

An incensed Sergei Bubka--who said meet promoter Al Franken broke his promise to provide a rubberized vaulting runway--vowed late Saturday night to never return to the Sunkist Invitational after enduring a series of delays and mishaps.

Bubka, world record-holder in the pole vault, won the meet Saturday night by clearing 19 feet 8 1/4 inches, an American all-comers record. Bubka missed in three attempts at a world record of 20-1 1/4, then, well after midnight, had harsh words about the organization of the meet.

“I was promised months ago that there would be a rubber runway,” Bubka said. “One hundred percent promise. The landing area was too small. There wasn’t enough room to take my full run. This promoter is not good. I did not feel I wanted to jump at all, but I don’t want to disappoint the people.”

Questions were raised as to how such an oversight could have occurred in the meet’s showcase event. Franken confirmed Sunday that he assured Bubka at the World Championships in Tokyo last September that if he came to the Sunkist meet, a rubberized, or tartan, runway would be provided. That didn’t happen.

Non-rubberized surfaces don’t provide as much traction and cushion and are potentially more dangerous for vaulters who are sprinting.

Another problem for Bubka was the length of the runway, which is 137 feet 6 inches long. Bubka requires 145 feet.

A similar situation happened in 1986 at the Millrose Games, where Bubka was expecting a rubber vaulting runway and found wood. That was the last time the Ukrainian competed in the United States.

Most indoor tracks in Europe and Japan are not only larger but are completely surfaced in tartan. Bubka’s agent said the vaulter was “shocked” when he arrived at the meet Saturday evening and found the wooden runway. He said Bubka did not want to disappoint the fans and vaulted anyway.

However, it may be the last look local fans have at Bubka.

“I will not come back,” Bubka said.

For his part, Franken describes the situation as a lack of communication. The tartan runway used for the first time at last year’s meet was provided by vaulter Earl Bell, who rolled it up and took it home after the meet.

Franken said he assumed that the surface would be there this year, even though Bell was not in the pole vault field.

Franken said he arrived at the Sports Arena at about 11 a.m. on Saturday. He said he noticed that the pole vault runway was only painted wood, then set in motion a daylong quest to obtain a tartan covering for the runway. The search ended up as a comedy of errors.

In early afternoon, a crew from the Sports Arena was dispatched to Banning High, where the school’s track coach said he had a tartan runway. The crew arrived and was directed to an outdoor shed where the material was stored. But because of recent rains, the lock on the shed was rusted and unworkable.

Then the Forum was called. Franken was looking for the track used by the defunct Times Indoor Games, which had a tartan runway. The Forum said the track had been sold.

A call was made to a local track and field equipment supplier, who reported that, yes, he carried tartan runways, but, no, he didn’t have any in stock.

By 6 p.m. when the event was to start, no tartan had been found and vaulters were beginning to warm up. That was halted briefly as a green indoor-outdoor carpet was found and crews attempted to attach that to the runway.

That was scrubbed, however, as the vaulters deemed it unsafe.

Finally, Bubka’s agent, Andrejz Kulikowski, went with Sports Arena staff and scoured the building to find a suitable surface. According to Kulikowski, they found a likely candidate in a stairwell--a long black rubber strip used to drape over concrete steps when they were wet.

They dragged about 50 feet of the mat back to the infield, flipped the grooved side down, nailed it to the boards, taped the places where it was fitted together and, 1 1/2 hours later, began the competition.

Bubka took his last jump at about 11:30 p.m., after most of the crowd had gone home.

Then there was the shoe problem. Bubka brought shoes appropriate for jumping on a rubberized surface. Franken sent someone across town to get another pair, but they didn’t work, either. Bubka finally jumped in shoes borrowed from Danny Harris, who won the 500-yard dash.

Franken was asked what would happen next year. “It’s something that will be remedied,” he said.