Steve Hooker

Hooker's 2009 world title in Berlin is the most remarkable piece of competition management in the event's history: injured, he passed his way up the bar, took a single jump at 5.90m and won. A year earlier he had won Olympic gold in Beijing with an Olympic record, built under coach Alan Launder on a long, fast run and very high grip. His later struggle with losing his nerve on the runway is an honest reminder of how psychological the vault is.