written by: Vitomir Spasović, illustrated by: Matija Dražović
The publishing of these picture books was enabled by the Croatian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee.
ISBN 978–953–57570–7–8, picture book 8
ISBN 978–953–7981–02–0, picture book series
Publisher: POKRET – aktivan i zdrav
Graphic design: Boris Barna
www.kidathletes.net
Proofreading: Jana Sumrak
Editor: Vitomir Spasović
Translated by: Andrea Bagović
Written by: Vitomir Spasović
Print: Printera
Illustrated by: Matija Dražović
Zagreb, 2014.
written by: Vitomir Spasović, illustrated by: Matija Dražović
olympic stories
The Bubkas lived in the country that used to be called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, more precisely in today’s Ukraine, in the town that used to be Voroshilovgrad, and that is now Lugansk. Father Nazar was in the military, while mother Valentina was employed in the local hospital. They had two sons: Vasily, the older, and Sergey, three years his junior.
Children can find places to play even in towns. So it was in the town streets that brothers Vasily and Sergey had fun. They played football with friends tirelessly. They often organized football matches of one street or district against another. To little
Sergey, these were the first sport arenas. The first stadium.
Sergey’s best friend was Slava Malahov. He often talked of something that was unfamiliar to all of them: about pole
vaulting, about athletes that could soar and fly over trees and houses. Other boys laughed at him because of these stories of “sky fliers.” Only Sergey listened carefully and absorbed his every word. “Never mind
them,” smiled Slava, not caring about other kids taunting him. “Believe you me.”
One first had to pass a test. Little Sergey had to grip a horizontal bar in his hands and show how many times he could lift himself up, so that his chin comes above the bar. Sergey, struggling, managed to do this only once. He was convinced that he had disgraced himself.
Nothing could be read from Vitaly Petrov’s face. The test went on. The test of speed was followed by the long jump. All in all, the coach was satisfied with his “street
preparation.” And Slava was glad too.
A few days later, Sergey got the pole into his hands. He was confused: he had expected the pole to lift him up as soon as he gripped it firmly. He was startled by the coach’s instruction to go to the sandbox for long jumps, stand on a wooden crate in front of the sand and simply thrust the pole into the sand, pushing against it. He was thrusting at random, and, after quite a lot of thrusting and pushing against the pole, he raised himself a bit over one metre and jumped over.
During a recess, Vitaly Petrov remarked to Sergey, with a gentle smile, that he jumped like a shepherd with a stick over a brook. Sergey liked this small joke: “All right, if I’m
not going to be a good vaulter, I can always be a good shepherd.” He found everything very interesting and looked forward to training sessions.
Bit by bit, together with the other boys, he mastered every exercise that the coach gave him: fast running, obstacles, exercises for strength. But he was not allowed to neglect school – coach Petrov was very particular about that.
Now better than ever, Sergey was preparing to make his great dream come true – to compete at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. But, as we have already seen, luck is deceptive, and people are fickle and quarrelsome, and they often make bad decisions.
So, in the midst of his efforts, when he was preparing with all his might, lifting tons of weight, running through forests and valleys and drenching in sweat, Sergey learned about the decision that Soviet athletes would not compete at the Olympic
Games. This is how the Soviets returned the favor to the Americans, who had not come to them during the last Games. This was their revenge.
In 1984, the Olympic Games in Los Angeles started without
Sergey. It was precisely because of his jumps that the world understood once again that the Olympic Games were competitions held in the spirit of peace and good will, where the best athletes from all countries and continents were supposed to compete, spreading friendship. People regretted that Bubka had not come to the
Games and realized that never again should discord, misunderstanding or quarrelling be allowed to prevent athletes from competing.
Just a few days after the Olympic Games, the best vaulters came to a competition in Rome. The Olympic winner was not there, but Frenchman Thierry Vigneron, who had been the third at the Games, was. He ardently wanted to compete with Sergey Bubka. It was a glorious contest. In one moment, Vigneron cleared a bar placed very high and set a new world record. He wore the crown for several minutes, the French were celebrating, and the whole stadium was applauding. And then Sergey Bubka soared over heaven itself in his first jump. The next day, the headlines read:
“This is How the Great Sergey Wins.�
Sergey was a welcome guest; he often visited schools and talked to children, revealing the secrets of sport to them. The children were very curious, and they would ask: “Aren’t
you ever tired?” And he answered with a story: “I sometimes have a beautiful dream.
I am a boy like you; I play with Vasya and Slava in my grandmother’s garden, under a high cherry tree full of ripe fruit. My grandmother lets us climb it and pick sweet
and juicy cherries. She says that they make children grow up healthy and strong. Even today, I believe that my grandmother was right. And when I have this dream, I know it means that I am tired. My coach also knows this, and then we take a break.�
Read the other picture books in the series Olympic Stories...