Injury Hampered Hooker Qualifies for Pole Vault Final

An injury hampered Steve Hooker has qualified for the final of the men’s pole vault at the Athletics World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

The WAIS scholarship holder – who had been under an injury cloud due to an adductor strain in the lead up to the event – completed a clearance at 5.65m at the first attempt to qualify his name for Saturday night’s final.

Hooker was in visible distress after his jump and confirmed he would target a similar one jump policy, should he get medical clearance to compete on Saturday.

“If I do jump (in the final) it will be a similar strategy. Just enter the competition with my first jump and then see how we go.”

“I’ll start at a height that I think is possible to win a medal. If I can do that then I will be happy.”

The 2008 Olympic Champion felt the strain as he entered his run up, but was hopeful the injury would improve with rest.

“I felt it strain a little bit down the runway. I don’t know if anything happened once I got off the ground,” Hooker said straight after the competition, prior to being seen by the Australian team doctor.

“I felt a little tight last night, but this morning it pulled up OK, so hopefully it’s similar situation, I wake up tomorrow and it feels better than today.”

The Australian Flame medical team will assess Hooker’s injury situation over the next three days, with an update expected tomorrow.