Dmitry Starodubtsev

Who is Dmitry Starodubtsev?

Dmitry Andreevich Starodubtsev; born 3 January 1986 in Chelyabinsk is a Russian pole vaulter. He has a personal best of 5.90 m and was a finalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. He has won medals at world youth and junior levels and was third at the Summer Universiade in 2007.

Prior to his senior debut, Starodubtsev had much success at competitions in the younger age categories. At the 2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics he cleared a personal best of 5.10 m to take the silver medal behind Argentina's German Chiaraviglio. He then went on to claim consecutive gold medals at the 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics and the 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships.

He won his first national title indoors with a personal best of 5.65 m at the beginning of 2006 and went on to make his senior debut for Russia at the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Moscow, where he was eliminated in the qualifying round. Later that year he competed outdoors, finishing tenth in the qualifiers at the 2006 European Athletics Championships then ninth at the 2006 IAAF World Cup. He equalled his personal best to make the final at the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships, but managed only 5.41 m in the last round to finish sixth overall. While studying at university, he won his first student-level medal at the 2007 Summer Universiade, taking the bronze at the event in Bangkok. In August that year he set a new best outdoors with a clearance of 5.70 m in Tula.