The greatest pole vaulter of all time turns 53 on Sunday. Sergey Bubka broke the pole vault world record 35 times and was the first to ever clear a height of six metres in the sport.

The Ukrainian’s outdoor world record of 6.14m, set on July 31, 1994, still stands while his indoor mark of 6.15m set in Donetsk February 21, 1993, stood for 21 years before it was broken by Renaud Lavillenie in 2014.

Originally a 100m sprinter and long jumper, Bubka rose from obscurity when he won his first of six world championship titles in the pole vault in 1983. The following year, he set his first world record and cleared 6m for the first time in July 1985.

He won Olympic gold in Seoul 1988 and officially retired in 2001. He is currently the senior vice president of the IAAF President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.

Other athletes who celebrate their birthday on December 4:

1956: Costantino Rocca, Italian golfer, who played in three Ryder Cups and was runner-up at 1995 Open (60).

1971: Shannon Briggs, American retired boxer, who is a former WBO heavyweight champion (45).

1974: Tadahito Iguchi, baseball player. The first Japanese-born position player to win the World Series (42).

1976: Kristina Groves, Canadian retired speed skater, who won three Olympic silver medals and one bronze (40).