CYPRUS’ Olympic pole vaulting hopes are hanging in the balance as athletes lobby local sporting associations to replace the dangerous and inadequate landing mats and poles at Limassol’s GSO stadium.
In an open letter to the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) vice president Segey Bubka – himself a pole vaulting world record holder –the island’s ten strong pole vaulting team said: “For around 10 years now we have made numerous complaints about the equipment of the (Tsirio) stadium, about the lack of interest in new athletes … and even in Cyprus champions.”
The letter details further health and safety risks associated with the outdated equipment.
“The athletes participating in this sport are in jeopardy and it is impossible to coach… The state of the mats is horrific. They are infested with moths and bacteria, (and) many times athletes injure themselves in practice.”
Photographs of the club’s only pole vaulting mats clearly show the coverings have worn away, that the foam has degraded and there is limited cushioning in many areas.
As a result, several athletes have reportedly broken their ankles after bad landings on the dilapidated mats, and one was reportedly hospitalised after suffering a severe allergic reaction to them.
One athlete said these problems are not only putting athletes out of action, but deterring the youth from taking up the sport: “It is too dangerous for anyone to continue like this, it must be changed or in a few years time pole vaulting in Cyprus won’t be an option for anyone.”
The same athlete added that other pole vaulters who came to GSO from abroad to train had taken one look at the mats and gone elsewhere.
Team coach Giorgos Apostolides agrees that this is affecting young talent, and that while special provisions can be made for top athletes ahead of big athletics meetings, the current equipment is too dangerous for youngsters.
“It is very dangerous.” He said: “GSO did send us some mats, but they were the wrong kind. We needed pole vaulting mats but they sent us high jumping mats. We also need more poles – the poles are very old and statistics have shown that these are dangerous.
One such top vaulter, who came fifth in the 2010 commonwealth games is 21 year old Nikandros Stylianou.
With a personal best of 5.4 metres, Stylianou is just 20 centimetres short of the qualifying height needed for the 2012 Olympics in London – a target Apostolides believes is attainable with the right equipment.
This, however, is expensive. According to one of the athletes, each of the four new poles that are needed cost upwards of €600, while new mats can cost upwards of €10,000.
Despite numerous attempts the stadium and the Cyprus Sports Federation could not be reached for comment.
