Kochi, Sunday, December 11, 2011: Breaking the national record was his immediate dream, but for 16-year-old Vishnu Unni from St George HSS, Kothamangalam, whose pole broke while attempting the feat at the senior pole vault event in the State School Athletics Championship here, the pain, both physical and mental, knew no bounds.

“We had a lot of expectations from him since he had already set a record during the district-level meet. There was every possibility that he would break the national record. Unfortunately, the speed at which he had taken the jump proved to be unfortunate,” said his coach Akhil KS. The pole broke when Vishnu was attempting to clear the 4.3 metres, the same his competitor Ebin Sunny was aiming at too.

“I was aiming to break the national record of 4.41 metres. But, sadly I was not able to make it,” a dejected Vishnu, who injured his ankle during the incident, said. The pole, according to his coach, had brought Vishnu victories in the past. “It didn’t seem to have any problems. The pole was not old and it looked good enough to bring Vishnu a record,” he said.

According to experts, such pole accidents are quite rare in events like this. But, whenever it happens, it was because of the lack of quality of the manufactured poles or the mistake in the technique the athlete uses.

(News agency)