Hooker can defend Olympic gold: coach

9 Feb 2012, 7:26 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Steve Hooker's decision to pull out of the Australian season could leave the Olympic pole vault champion just three weeks to qualify for the London Games.

Olympic pole vault champion Steve Hooker is taking the tough route to London and may have only left himself a three week window to qualify to defend his title.

Hooker admits his decision to pull out of the rest of Australia's domestic athletics season is a risk, but he feels he needs to step away from competition to clear his mind and rediscover his confidence.

By skipping the Australian season, including the selection trials next month, Hooker has until the final selectors' meeting on June 11 to clear an A qualifying height of 5.72m during the European summer.

Athletics Australia high performance manager Eric Hollingsworth says Hooker's decision hasn't damaged his bid for a second Olympic gold medal.

"It hasn't done it any harm, but it hasn't made it any easier," Hollingsworth said.

"He's now taking a more difficult route. It can certainly be done."

He is expected to train in Perth until late May before heading north for the start of the European season, potentially only giving himself a handful of events to qualify before the June 11 deadline.

But Hollingsworth said qualifying shouldn't be a problem for Hooker and he then has plenty of time before the Olympic qualifying round in August.

"Of course he's got enough time. D-Day is August 8," Hollingsworth said.

"The reality is that qualifying is not a standard that's an issue for him. As long as he takes off his full approach, he'll get 5.72, so he's got plenty of time to do that."

Even if he doesn't reach 5.72m, Australia's selectors have the discretion to pick him on a B qualifying mark of 5.60m.

Hooker said after only clearing 5.00m in Adelaide last week he knew he had to stop before his problems became insurmountable.

"We thought the risk was if we kept going through the season the problems that I've been having would degenerate and get worse and not have enough time to try to get another proper preparation in to compete again and try to qualify," he told reporters in Perth on Thursday.

"You need to build an Olympic campaign off a solid base and that base wasn't there yet so we're going back to basics.

"Sometimes I run in and I don't take off, it's as simple as that."

He had earlier said he has lost the self-assurance needed for the pole vault, an event in which "you can do serious damage to yourself" if you get it only slightly wrong.

"The confidence I require to stand at the end of the runway and then charge down, land my pole and soar almost six metres into the air has left me for the time being," Hooker wrote in News Ltd newspapers on Thursday.

"To be at your best a pole-vaulter's mind must be clear. If you have numerous calculations going through your head on the runway and through the take-off, it just doesn't happen."

Hollingsworth said the dangers in the pole vault exacerbated any technical issues.

"That's the main issue like any sport where there's a danger element, it's more difficult to execute," he said.

"It's a matter of clearing his mind, going back to the basics, regaining some confidence and then making sure he can execute at the appropriate time.

"There's not a blueprint. It could take one jump, it could take 100 jumps."

Hooker, 29, will attend a meeting in Perth on Friday with Hollingsworth, coach Alex Parnov and the AA support services team, including sports psychologists, to discuss his next step.

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