Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Mycenaean Greeks, Minoan Greeks and Celts. It has been a full medal event at the Olympic Games since 1896 for men and since 2000 for women.
Renaud Lavillenie is a French pole vaulter. Lavillenie won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London and the silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. In addition to his Olympic success, he has won three World Indoor Championships gold medals (record), three European Championships gold medals and four European Indoor Championships gold medals. He has also won one silver medal and four bronze medals at the World Championships. As of 25 August 2016, he holds the French national records for the highest pole vault clearance both outdoors and indoors. The 6.16 was the absolute world record for the pole vault for over 6 years, 2014–2020. He was the pole vault overall winner of the IAAF Diamond League in seven consecutive years, from 2010 to 2016.
The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in Athletics, the championships serve as a way of selecting the best athletes for those competitions.
The men's pole vault was a competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 8–10 August. Thirty-two athletes from 23 nations competed. The event was won by Renaud Lavillenie of France, the nation's first victory in the event since 1996 and third overall. Björn Otto and Raphael Holzdeppe of Germany took silver and bronze, respectively; like France, it was the first time since 1996 that Germany reached the men's pole vault podium.
The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held between 27 September and 6 October 2019 in Doha, Qatar, at the renovated multi-purpose Khalifa International Stadium, but reduced to 21,000 available seats. 1,772 athletes from 206 teams competed in 49 athletics events over the ten-day competition, comprising 24 events each for men and women, plus a mixed relay. There were 43 track and field events, 4 racewalking events, and 2 marathon road running events. The racewalking and marathon events were held in Doha Corniche.
The men's pole vault competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium between 13–15 August. Thirty-one athletes from 16 nations competed. Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil won the gold medal, the nation's first medal in the men's pole vault. Renaud Lavillenie of France was unable to successfully defend his 2012 gold, but became the seventh man to win two medals with silver this time. Sam Kendricks's bronze returned the United States to the podium after a one-Games absence.
Sam Kendricks is an American pole vaulter. He is a three-time indoor and six-time outdoor national champion (2014–2019), the 2016 Olympics bronze medalist, and the 2017 World Champion. In 2019, Kendricks set the American pole vault record at 6.06 m, tying him with Steve Hooker for fourth all time. He later won the gold medal at the World Championships in Doha.
Armand Gustav "Mondo" Duplantis is a binational American-born Swedish pole vaulter and the current world record holder with a height of 6.20 metres, set indoors, and a world best (outdoor) of 6.16 metres and the current Olympic champion. Duplantis won gold as a 15-year-old in the boys' pole vault at the 2015 World Youth Championships and holds a number of age group world bests. He won the gold medal at the 2018 European Championships with a height of 6.05 metres, and the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. Duplantis has also won the 2020 Diamond League and the 2021 European Indoor Championships, setting Championship Bests at both. In 2021, he won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In 2022, he became world champion at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships.
The men's pole vault at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 22 and 24 August.
The men's pole vault at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on March 17, 2016.
The women's pole vault at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 4 and 6 August.
The men's pole vault at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 6 and 8 August.
The men's pole vault at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships took place on 4 March 2018.
The men's pole vault at the 2018 European Athletics Championships took place at the Olympic Stadium on 10 and 12 August.
The men's pole vault event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place between 31 July and 3 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 29 athletes from 18 nations competed. Armand Duplantis of Sweden won gold, with Christopher Nilsen of the United States earning silver and Thiago Braz of Brazil taking bronze. It was Sweden's first victory in the event and first medal of any color in the men's pole vault since 1952. Braz, who had won in 2016, became the ninth man to earn multiple medals in the pole vault.
The women's pole vault event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 2 and 5 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 31 athletes from 19 nations competed. In her first Olympics, 30-year-old American Katie Nageotte won the gold medal with a clearance of 4.90 metres. The silver medal went to Russian world champion Anzhelika Sidorova and the bronze to Holly Bradshaw of Great Britain.
The men's 200 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 29 September to 1 October 2019.
The men's high jump at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 1 to 4 October.
The women's pole vault at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, from 27 to 29 September 2019.
