Pole vaulter Hooker upbeat ahead of Olympics

Australia's Olympic champion Steve Hooker said he was encouraged by finishing sixth in his latest pole vault competition at the Rome Diamond League meet, according to reports. In his second international competition since returning from a bout of the runway "yips" that forced him out of the Australian domestic season, Hooker Thursday cleared 5.42 metres, 58 centimetres short of his personal outdoor best. Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie demonstrated how far Hooker needs to progress before next month's London Olympics, clearing 5.82m. "I've come here and I've done some good training. The body is feeling good and I'm working with the physio over here," Hooker told the Athletics Australia website. "I had a really good warm-up. Everything went according to plan up until 5.60m where I had that stop on the first attempt, which probably cost me." Hooker said he would be working on further improvement for his next competition in Munich on June 5. Hooker won the Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2008, the 2009 world title, the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medals and the 2010 world indoor championships.