Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault

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Men's pole vault
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Opening of the Olympic Games in London, 29 July, 1948. (7649948798).jpg
Olympic stadium (opening ceremony)
Venue Wembley Stadium
DatesJuly 31 (qualifying)
August 2 (final)
Competitors19 from 10 nations
Winning height4.30
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Guinn Smith
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Erkki Kataja
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
Bronze medal icon.svg Bob Richards
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
  1936
1952  
Video on YouTube Official Video
Pole Vault competition starts @ 26:10 TV-icon-2.svg
Video on YouTube Official Video
Pole Vault competition starts @ 26:10

The men's pole vault event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Nineteen athletes from 10 nations competed. [1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The competition was held on July 31 and August 2. During the final, a rainstorm came in during the jumps at 4.10. All the jumpers at 4.20 and higher had to deal with wet conditions on the runway and with their poles. The final was won by American Guinn Smith. Erkki Kataja had held the lead with a perfect set of jumps until Smith's last attempt clearance of 4.30. [2] Smith's win was the United States' 11th consecutive victory in the men's pole vault. Kataja's silver was Finland's first medal in the event.

Background

This was the 11th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The only returning vaulter from the pre-war 1936 Games was sixth-place finisher Richard Webster of Great Britain. American Cornelius Warmerdam had dominated the pole vault during World War II, breaking the world record three times and increasing the record a total of 23 centimetres; however, he had retired in 1944. Boo Morcom was the favorite in London, having won the 1945, 1947, and 1948 AAU championships (the last tied with Bob Richards) and tied the Olympic trials with Guinn Smith. However, Morcom was injured at the Games. [1]

Iceland and Puerto Rico each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 11th appearance, the only nation to have competed at every Olympic men's pole vault to that point.

Competition format

The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1912, with results cleared between rounds. Vaulters received three attempts at each height. For the first time (other than the impromptu decision in 1936 after two Japanese vaulters refused to jump-off against each other), ties were broken by fewest misses.

In the qualifying round, the bar was set at heights including 3.60 metres, 3.70 metres, 3.80 metres, 3.90 metres, and 4.00 metres. All vaulters clearing 4.00 metres advanced to the final.

In the final, the bar was set at heights of 3.60 metres, 3.80 metres, 3.95 metres, 4.10 metres, 4.20 metres, 4.30 metres, and 4.40 metres. [1] [3]

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Cornelius Warmerdam  (USA)4.77 Modesto, United States 23 May 1942
Olympic recordUS flag 48 stars.svg  Earle Meadows  (USA)4.35 Berlin, Germany 5 August 1936

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

DateTimeRound
Saturday, 31 July 194811:00Qualifying
Monday, 2 August 194814:30Final

Results

Key

Qualifying round

Qual. rule: qualification standard 4.00m (Q) or at least best 12 qualified (q).

RankAthleteNationHeightNotes
1 Guinn Smith US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 4.00Q
Erkki Kataja Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 4.00Q
Bob Richards US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 4.00Q
Erling Kaas Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 4.00Q
Ragnar Lundberg Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 4.00Q
Boo Morcom US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 4.00Q
Hugo Göllors Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 4.00Q
Valto Olenius Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 4.00Q
Joe Barbosa Puerto rico national sport flag.svg  Puerto Rico 4.00Q
José Vicente Puerto rico national sport flag.svg  Puerto Rico 4.00Q
Victor Sillon Flag of France.svg  France 4.00Q
Allan Lindberg Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 4.00Q
13 Georges Breitman Flag of France.svg  France 3.90
14 Theodosios Balafas Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece 3.80
Torfi Bryngeirsson Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 3.80
16 Luis Ganoza Flag of Peru (1825-1950).svg  Peru 3.70
17 Charles Bouvet Flag of France.svg  France 3.60
Richard Webster Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 3.60
Jaime Piqueras Flag of Peru (1825-1950).svg  Peru 3.60

Final

All vaulters cleared or passed at 3.60 metres and 3.80 metres; jump sequences for those heights are not available.

RankAthleteNation3.954.104.204.304.40Height
Gold medal icon.svg Guinn Smith US flag 48 stars.svg  United States xoxooxxox--4.30
Silver medal icon.svg Erkki Kataja Flag of Finland.svg  Finland oooxxx4.20
Bronze medal icon.svg Bob Richards US flag 48 stars.svg  United States oxoxoxxx4.20
4 Erling Kaas Flag of Norway.svg  Norway ooxxx4.10
5 Ragnar Lundberg Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden oxxoxxx4.10
6 Boo Morcom US flag 48 stars.svg  United States oxxx3.95
7 Hugo Göllors Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden xoxxx3.95
Valto Olenius Flag of Finland.svg  Finland xoxxx3.95
9 José Barbosa Puerto rico national sport flag.svg  Puerto Rico xxoxxx3.95
José Vicente Puerto rico national sport flag.svg  Puerto Rico xxoxxx3.95
Victor Sillon Flag of France.svg  France xxoxxx3.95
12 Allan Lindberg Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden xxx3.80

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Pole Vault, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  2. "Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's Pole Vault". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  3. Official Report, p. 268.