Time & Perspective Quote by Sergei Bubka

Bubka is selling a paradox every elite athlete understands: the only way to survive professionalism is to protect the part of you that never got paid. “Even now” does a lot of work here. It’s the sigh of a veteran who knows what the machine looks like from the inside: sponsorships, national expectations, the repetitive grind of training, the constant measurement. Against that, he reaches for “amateur spirit” not as a denial of excellence, but as a refusal to let the sport become a mere job.

The phrase also carries Cold War-era subtext. Bubka rose in the Soviet system, where athletes were often “amateurs” on paper while living as state-supported professionals. By invoking amateurism, he isn’t endorsing an old rulebook; he’s reclaiming an inner motive that can’t be nationalized or monetized. It’s a way of saying: I can be a symbol, a record-holder, a political asset, but I’m still choosing this.

“To spend my time” sounds almost defiant in a culture that treats time as something to optimize. He frames participation as a personal allocation of life, not an obligation to the scoreboard. “With all my heart” is the emotional anchor: a reminder that peak performance isn’t only biomechanics and strategy, it’s sustained desire. Bubka’s intent is protective and pragmatic. Keep the joy, or the sport will take everything else and still ask for more.