Ukraine’s Serhiy Bubka Inducted Into IAAF Hall of Fame

Kyiv, June 27, 2012. International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Vice-President, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member, National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine President and a sports legend Serhiy Bubka was named among the 24 inaugural Members of the IAAF Hall of Fame. Together with Bubka, IAAF Hall of Fame, which has been created to mark the year of the IAAF Centenary, simultaneously claimed the name of Sebastian Coe, Great Britain.

The announcement was made on June 25, 2012 to mark the Oceania Area’s IAAF Centenary Gala in Cairns, Australia. IOC Member Serhiy Bubka was a guest of honor at the event, while the city where Sebastian Coe was brought up, Sheffield, England, was named one of the Olympic Torch bearers, according to the IAAF’s website.

The two track-and-field legends will be officially inducted into the IAAF Hall of fame on November 24, 2012, at the IAAF Centenary Gala in Barcelona, Spain. To mark the IAAF Centenary, a total of 24 athletes will become inaugural Members of the IAAF Hall of Fame in 2012.

Bubka started his prominent sports career with a victory in the Pole Vault as a 19-year-old at the World Championships in 1983. He won gold on the next five championships as well. Notably, Serhiy Bubka is the only athlete who won six gold medals in the same individual discipline. Bubka became the 1988 Olympic champion. He also set 35 World records in his event, breaking the outdoor World record 17 times and the indoor record 18 times. Both of his World records remain unbroken until today.

Coe, the two-time Olympic 1500 meter champion set three World records in 41 days in 1979: running 800 meter and Mile records at separate events in Oslo before going into the new territory - 1500 meter run in Zurich. He set four more World records in 1981, with his 800 meter time lasting until 1997 and his 1000 meter record has not been broken for more than 18 years.

“I am delighted that two more of my Council colleagues will join the inaugural membership of the IAAF Hall of Fame,” said IAAF President Lamine Diack. "With the creation of the Hall of Fame we set out to honor the lifetime achievements of our greatest athletes, and heighten public awareness of our sport and its rich history. In Serhiy and Seb we have two great champions and record breakers whose contribution to our sport’s success cannot be underestimated.”