Gold medal win yet to sink in: Hooker

Gold medal win yet to sink in: Hooker

Sleepless Steve Hooker says becoming the first Australian male to win an Olympic track and field gold medal in 40 years still hasn't sunk in.

Hooker won the pole vault at the Beijing Games late on Friday night, setting an Olympic record in the process.

The aftermath of the remarkable triumph, in which he four times faced do-or-die jumps to stay in the event, has been a blur for the 26-year-old.

After the obligatory round of press conferences ended in the early hours, Hooker celebrated with teammates at a Beijing bar before returning to front an Australian Olympic Committee media call first thing on Saturday morning.

"It definitely hasn't sunk in, I'm still the same guy that I was yesterday," Hooker said.

"I still haven't slept - I haven't had the chance to wake up and be someone new I guess.

"I might have a nap this afternoon and wake up and be a new person or be in a new life but it's all feeling pretty much the same.

"I have just been out with the same group of athletes that I was with a couple of days ago and we have all got the same vibe amongst us."

Hooker only advanced to the final by clearing his final qualifying jump at his third and last attempt.

Then in the final, Hooker three times faced elimination from the gold medal hunt only to clear the heights on his last chance, including the winning 5.90m vault.

The Perth-based athlete kept going to set a new Olympic record of 5.96m on his second try.

"In the end it was good that I was doing third attempt jumps because I just knocked all the nervous energy out of myself," he said.

"I just started doing what I needed to do to get through the jumps which was jump technically well and that is what got me through in the end."