Contents

Steve Hooker

Steve Hooker
OAM

Steve Hooker in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Steven Leslie Hooker
Nickname	Hooksy
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1982-07-16) 16 July 1982 (age 41) Melbourne, Australia
Height	187 cm (6 ft1+1⁄2 in)[1]
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)[1]
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Pole vault
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	2004 Athens Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics
Medal record Representing  Australia Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Pole vault World Championships 2009 Berlin Pole vault World Indoor Championships 2010 Doha Pole vault 2008 Valencia Pole vault Commonwealth Games 2006 Melbourne Pole vault 2010 Delhi Pole vault World Cup 2006 Athens Pole vault Continental Cup 2010 Split Pole vault World Athletics Final 2007 Stuttgart Pole vault

Steven Leslie Hooker OAM (born 16 July 1982) is an Australian former pole vaulter and Olympic gold medalist. His personal best, achieved in 2008, is 6.06 m (19 ft10+1⁄2 in) making him the fourth-highest pole vaulter in history,^[2] behind Sergey Bubka, Renaud Lavillenie and Armand Duplantis.

Hooker was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and has a personal best of 10.82 s in 100 m as an amateur sprinter.^[3] He ran in the 2010 Stawell Gift.

Career[edit]

Hooker won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a vault of 5.96 metres, setting a new Olympic record, and making him the first Australian male track and field gold medallist in 40 years since Ralph Doubell won the 800 metres in Mexico City in 1968.^[4][5][6]

At the 2009 World Athletics Championships, in Berlin, Hooker won the gold medal despite a hamstring injury. On only his second jump, Hooker cleared 5.90 metres, to win the gold medal after missing 5.85 metres on his first attempt.^[7][8]

At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Hooker won the gold medal in the pole vault with a vault of 6.01 metres, a championship record.

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Hooker won the gold medal in the pole vault.

Hooker competed at the 2012 London Olympics and finished 14th after failing to vault a height in the final.^[9]

Hooker joined six-metre club for the first time on 27 January 2008 at an outdoor competition in Perth, Western Australia with a vault of 6.0m.^[10] On 7 February 2009, at the Boston Indoor Games he set an Australian indoor record with a vault of 6.06m. Both heights were the Australian record at the time of his retirement.^[11]

During his career he was coached by Mark Stewart and Alex Parnov.^[10]

He retired from athletics in April 2014, choosing to focus on his family. His wife Yekaterina Kostetskaya gave birth to their first son, Maxim, in 2013,^[12] and the couple have since had two more sons.^[13]

Honours[edit]

In the 2009 Australia Day Honours, Steve Hooker was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "For service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games".^[14][15] In October 2017, Hooker was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as an athlete member.^[10]

Personal life[edit]

Hooker attended Greythorn Primary School and Balwyn High SchoolinBalwyn North, Victoria.

His mother Erica Hooker was a 1972 Olympian and a 1978 Commonwealth Games long jump silver medalist. She also won nine national titles. His father Bill represented Australia in the 800 m and 4 x 400 m at the 1974 Commonwealth Games and won four national crowns.

He began his career with the Box Hill Athletic Club. His career started slowly, and he only went professional in 2006. He relocated to Perth, living on a very modest Australian Sports Commission allowance.

Summary of athletic achievements[edit]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  Australia
2000	World Junior Championships	Santiago, Chile	4th	5.20 m
2006	Commonwealth Games	Melbourne, Australia	1st	5.80 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	5th	5.75 m
	World Cup	Athens, Greece	1st	5.80 m
2007	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	3rd	5.81 m
2008	World Indoor Championships	Valencia, Spain	3rd	5.80 m
	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	1st	5.96 m OR
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	1st	5.90 m
2010	World Indoor Championships	Doha, Qatar	1st	6.01 m CR
	Continental Cup	Split, Croatia	1st	5.95 m CR
	Commonwealth Games	New Delhi, India	1st	5.60 m

See also[edit]

• 6 metres club

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steve Hooker.

• Steve HookeratWorld Athletics
• Steve Hooker personal website
• Steven Hooker at Australian Athletics Historical Results
• Steve Hooker at the Australian Olympic Committee
• Steve HookeratOlympics.com
• Steve HookeratOlympedia
• Steve HookeratCommonwealth Games Australia
• Steve Hooker at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
• Steve Hooker at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games (archived)
• Steve Hooker at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games