A group of world-class pole vaulters took a chunk out of a Sydney airport ceiling while carrying their equipment through the terminal, reports said last Monday.
The vaulters — Australian pair Paul Burgess and Beijing Olympic champion Steve Hooker and American 2004 Olympic gold medallist Tim Mack — were refused permission to send their 5.2m poles via the outsize luggage area.
But trouble struck as they carried them through the domestic airport.
PHOTO: AP
Burgess said he “broke the airport” when he got the poles of his training partner Hooker stuck in an escalator.
Plaster rained down on Burgess when the poles wedged into the step of the escalator and smashed through the ceiling.
“We were taking the poles down the escalator and Steve was behind me and I saw this overhanging glass sign ahead,” he told The Australian newspaper.
“I put my poles down to miss it and then turned and said to Steve, ‘Don’t hit the pane of glass’, and as I said that my poles hit this plaster wall and went into the ceiling.”
Luckily one commuter was on the ball and managed to activate the escalator’s emergency stop button to prevent the poles from snapping.
Hooker said the poles were only freed 45 minutes later when a technician reversed the escalator.
Neither athlete was injured and fortunately all six poles — each valued at A$800 (NT$17,860) — seemed to have survived intact as the group headed to Melbourne for a tournament. (afp)
媒體上週一報導，一群世界級撐竿跳選手帶著裝備通過雪梨一座機場航站時，把天花板頂破了一大塊。
這群撐竿跳選手包括澳洲籍的保羅．伯吉斯和在北京奧運拿下金牌的史帝夫．胡克，以及二ＯＯ四奧運金牌得主美國選手提姆•麥克，他們五點二公尺長的撐竿在特大號行李區遭到航空公司拒絕運送。
就在他們帶著撐竿行經這座國內機場時出了狀況。
伯吉斯把搭檔胡克的撐竿卡在電扶梯上動彈不得時說，他「把機場弄壞了」。
撐竿插進手扶梯的階梯後，另一端戳破了天花板，碎落的灰泥就掉在伯吉斯身上。
他對《澳洲人報》說：「我們拿著撐竿搭手扶梯下樓，史帝夫在我後頭，我看到前方這個垂掛式的玻璃指示牌。」
「於是我把竿子放低，以免撞上它，然後轉身對史帝夫說：『不要打到那面玻璃』，言猶在耳，我的竿子就撞上灰泥牆，穿破天花板。」
幸好一位機警的通勤者按下手扶梯緊急停止按鈕，這些撐竿才沒有被折斷。
胡克說，過了四十五分鐘後，一位技術人員將手扶梯反向運作，才把這些撐竿取下。
所幸這些運動員都沒有受傷，而且這六根每根要價八百澳幣（新台幣一萬七千八百六十元）的撐竿也完好無缺，他們一行人得以順利前進墨爾本參加一場巡迴賽。（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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