Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault

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Men's pole vault
at the Games of the II Olympiad
Irving Baxter, champion olympique de saut a la perche en 1900 (3m30).jpg
Irving Baxter vaulting
Venue Bois de Boulogne
DateJuly 15
Competitors8 from 5 nations
Winning height3.30 =OR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Irving Baxter
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Meredith Colket
US flag 45 stars.svg  United States
Bronze medal icon.svg Carl Albert Andersen
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
  1896
1904  

The men's pole vault was a track & field athletics event at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 15, 1900. Eight athletes from five nations competed in the pole vault. [1]

This event was heavily protested by the United States team, as it was held on a Sunday and three of the top American vaulters had been told that they could vault on the following day and have the results count. The French organizers, however, ruled on July 14 that the results of Sunday competitions would be final. The American vaulters did not learn of that decision until after the event. The two that did compete were not regularly vaultersBaxter had just finished winning the high jump when the pole vault began and decided to join the competition. He won, with teammate Meredith Colket finishing second. Carl Albert Andersen of Norway took bronze.

Background

This was the second appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The American team was heavily favored, though the ruling that the Sunday competition would be final eliminated top competitors Charles Dvorak, Dan Horton, and Bascom Johnson, who were unaware of the ruling and expected to compete the following day. [2]

France, Hungary, Norway, and Sweden each made their first appearance in the event. The United States was the only nation to have pole vaulters at both the 1896 and 1900 Games.

Competition format

There was a single round of vaulting. [2]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics.

World recordFlag of the United States.svg Raymond Clapp (USA)3.62* Chicago, United States 16 June 1896
Olympic recordUS flag 44 stars.svg  William Hoyt  (USA)3.30 Athens, Greece 10 April 1896 (NS)

* unofficial

Irving Baxter equalized the Olympic record with 3.30 metres.

Schedule

The Sunday schedule prevented some Americans from competing. Because the event was held immediately after the high jump, the high jump winner (Irving Baxter) decided to compete.

DateTimeRound
Sunday, 15 July 190016:30Final

Results

Baxter, despite being a high jumper who had little experience in pole vaulting and having just finished the high jump competition, was the top vaulter. Along with the other medallists, he cleared 3.10 metres first, then 3.20 metres. Andersen could not clear 3.25 while both the Americans did. That was the highest vault that Colket could accomplish, however, and Baxter's 3.30 was enough to win.

RankAthleteNationHeightNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Irving Baxter US flag 45 stars.svg  United States 3.30 =OR
Silver medal icon.svg Meredith Colket US flag 45 stars.svg  United States 3.25
Bronze medal icon.svg Carl Albert Andersen Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 3.20
4 Émile Gontier Flag of France.svg  France 3.10
Jakab Kauser Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary 3.10
Eric Lemming Swedish civil ensign (1844-1905).svg  Sweden 3.10
7 Karl Staaf Swedish civil ensign (1844-1905).svg  Sweden 2.80
8 August Nilsson Swedish civil ensign (1844-1905).svg  Sweden 2.60

Unofficial subsequent competitions

Following the official event on Sunday, two additional pole vault competitions were held on Monday (16 July) and Thursday (19 July). Only the winner is known from the 16 July competition; the 19 July competition was held after the handicap pole vault and the top two finishers are known. [3] [4]

They were both hosted by the French Olympic officials, by request of the American athletes who did not compete on Sunday thinking their later marks would count for medals. These competitions were considered to be outside of the Olympic events by the French officials at the time. [3] [4]

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References

  1. "Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's Pole Vault". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Pole Vault, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Olympedia – Special Scratch Pole Vault #1, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Olympedia – Special Scratch Pole Vault #2, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 7 March 2024.

Sources