... represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. He broke the world outdoor record 17 times between 1984 and 1994, raising it from 5.85 metres to 6.14 metres in the process, and the indoor record 18 times. He won gold at every World Athletics Championships from 1983 to 1997, but only one Olympic medal (Seoul, 1988). At Barcelona in 1992 he failed to clear his opening height. He retired in 2001.
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