born Dec. 14, 1963, Voroshilovgrad, Ukr., U.S.S.R.
Ukrainian pole-vaulter.
He first cleared 6 m (19 ft 8 in.), long considered impossible, in Paris in 1985. In 1991 he cleared 6.1 m (20 ft), and he remains the only pole-vaulter to have done so. He won an Olympic gold medal in 1988 but failed to place at the 1992 Olympic Games. In 1994, at Sestriere, Italy, he vaulted a record 6.14 m (20 ft 1.75 in.) for his 17th outdoor record and his 35th overall.