Living the Olympic dream

Take it from 10-time world pole vault champion and 1988 Seoul Olympic gold medalist Sergey Bubka of Ukraine.

- JOAQUIN M. HENS ON

The toughest and most pressure-packed competition he'd ever engaged in was the Olympics.

"It's different in the Olympics," said the 60-year-old Bubka who was recently in Manila for a visit. "In the Worlds, you're with champions of events in athletics. But in the Olympics, you're with champions of different sports so you're with the best from tennis, basketball, boxing and many, many more. In Seoul, I couldn't believe I was with the greatest sports stars of the world. There's a lot of pressure. You have to be mentally strong and focused. If you keep thinking about winning a medal, you'll be burned out mentally when you finally compete." He said pole vaulting is particularly challenging because it involves not only technique but also tactics.