(Friday, September 1, 2000) - Pole vaulter Alex Averbukh said yesterday that the purpose of his going to the Sydney Olympics is to bring home the gold medal.
'There's a saying in the army that if a soldier doesn't want to be a general, then there's something wrong with him,' he told a press conference yesterday,
'I was raised to be a winner. I have won competitions, and I will do everything I can to make sure the same happens at the Olympics.'
At the Israel Athletic Championships in July, Averbukh broke the national pole vault record with a jump of 5.85 meters. He also won the bronze medal at the 1999 World Athletics Championships in Seville, becoming the first Israeli medal winner in that event.
Asked if he knows the words to the national anthem, the immigrant from the former Soviet Union said: 'When I win in Sydney, you'll hear just how I sing.'
In other Olympic news, Aryeh Roznear, pole vaulter Danny Krasnov's coach, said yesterday that he will not be making the trip to the Olympics.
Roznear said he had cancelled his trip for personal reasons. Krasnov is currently in Germany, making final preparations for a vault to glory.
The rest of the Olympians will leave Israel on Sunday.
And just as the athletes prepare to embark, Israel Olympic Committee (IOC) chairman Zvi Varshaviak yesterday said that the Science, Culture and Sport Ministry would finally - over the next few days - hand over the remaining NIS 2.5 million allotted for athletes taking part in the Olympics.
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