Sergei Bubka is piling up money a fraction of an inch at a time.

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Bubka inched closer to the outdoor 20-foot mark in the pole vault, soaring 19-11 3/4 at a track and field meet on Monday to raise his own world record, set in Moscow last month, by a half-inch.Bubka cleared the height on his first try, received a thunderous ovation from the crowd, and passed on his remaining attempts. Each time Bubka breaks the world record, he earns between $30,000 and $40,000 from meet organizers and about $90,000 from his commercial Italian sponsor.

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