Paul Burgess (born 14 August 1979 in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

pole vaulter Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the My ...

who became only the thirteenth

in the world to reach 6 metres.

Biography

Burgess was originally a gymnast, winning a silver medal at the Australian National Gymnastics Championships as a thirteen-year-old. Having grown too tall to continue with gymnastics, testing at the

Western Australian Institute of Sport The Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1983 by the Government of Western Australia to support athletes in Western Australia. Previously, if elite athletes from Western Australian needed to train or ...

suggested that Burgess was suited to pole vault. By 1996, Burgess had won the gold medal at the 1996 Sydney World Junior Championships, clearing a then-personal best of 5.35 metres. Later that year Burgess set the under 18 Australian record of 5.51 metres. In 1998, Burgess finished second at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

, third at the World Junior Championships and seventh at the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. Burgess finished second at the

East Asian Games The East Asian Games was a multi-sport event organized by the East Asian Games Association (EAGA) and held every four years from 1993 to 2013. Among those who competed included athletes from East Asian countries and territories of the Olympic C ...

in 2001, clearing 5.50 metres. In 2002, Burgess finished fifth at the

, clearing 5.20 metres. At his second

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, in 2004, Burgess finished eleventh at 5.55 metres, although he had cleared 5.70 metres in the qualifying rounds. It was, however, in 2005 that Burgess's form improved dramatically, clearing 5.91 metres, 5.95 metres and then 6.00 metres in domestic competition. These were, at the time, the three highest vaults on Australian soil. Burgess ended the 2006 European season as the number two ranked pole vaulter (behind training partner

Steven Hooker Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

), having won the

World Athletics Final The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the ...

on 10 September 2006. Burgess won US$30,000 in the process. He was named

Western Australian Sports Star of the Year The Western Australian Sports Star Award, currently known as ''The West Australian'RACSports Star Award, is an annual award for sportspeople from the Australian state of Western Australia and/or playing for teams based in Western Australia. It has ...

in January 2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Paul 1979 births Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Living people Olympic athletes for Australia Australian male artistic gymnasts Australian male pole vaulters Track and field athletes from Western Australia Athletes from Perth, Western Australia Western Australian Institute of Sport alumni Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Sportsmen from Western Australia

Biography

See also

References

External links