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 was already practiced by the ancient Egyptians, ancient Greeks and the ancient Irish people, although modern pole vaulting, an athletic contest where height is measured, was first established by the German teacher Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths in the 1790s. It has been a full medal event at the Olympic Games since 1896 for men and since 2000 for women.
Robert Eugene Richards was an American athlete, minister, and politician. He made three U.S. Olympic Teams in two events: the 1948, 1952, and 1956 Summer Olympics as a pole vaulter and as a decathlete in 1956. He won gold medals in pole vault in both 1952 and 1956, becoming the first male two-time champion in the event in Olympic history.
Sergey Nazarovych Bubka is a Ukrainian former pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News, and in 2012 was one of 24 athletes inducted as inaugural members of the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall of Fame.
The first world record in the men's pole vault was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1912.
The men's pole vault event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Wednesday, August 18, 1920, and on Friday, August 20, 1920. 16 pole vaulters from seven nations competed. No nation had more than 4 jumpers, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912. The event was won by Frank Foss of the United States, the nation's sixth consecutive victory in the men's pole vault. Henry Petersen's silver was Denmark's first medal in the event and the first time a non-American had done better than bronze in the pole vault. Edwin Myers's bronze continued the American streak of winning at least two medals in each pole vault, however.
The men's pole vault was an event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There were a total number of 34 participating athletes from 23 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The qualification mark was set at 5.60 metres.
These are the official results of the Men's Pole Vault event at the 1993 IAAF World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. There were a total of 45 participating athletes, with two qualifying groups. The final was held on Thursday August 19, 1993.
These are the official results of the Men's Pole Vault event at the 1990 European Championships in Split, Yugoslavia, held at Stadion Poljud on 28 and 30 August 1990. There were a total number of nineteen participating athletes.
The men's pole vault event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California had an entry list of 19 competitors from 13 nations, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Wednesday August 8, 1984. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Pierre Quinon of France, the nation's first medal in the men's pole vault. France also took one of the two bronze medals after Thierry Vigneron tied with Earl Bell of the United States for third. Mike Tully, also American, earned silver. Bell and Tully continued the American streak of podium appearances in the event every time the United States competed.
These are the official results of the Men's Pole Vault event at the 1994 European Championships in Helsinki, Finland, held at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 9 and 11 August 1994. There were 27 participating athletes, with two qualifying groups.
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 six years, 2014–2020. He was the pole vault overall winner of the IAAF Diamond League in seven consecutive years, from 2010 to 2016.
Samuel Hathorn Kendricks is an American pole vaulter. He is a three-time indoor and six-time outdoor national champion (2014–2019), the 2016 Olympics bronze and 2024 Olympics silver medalist, and the 2017 and 2019 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 "Mondo" Duplantis is a Swedish-American pole vaulter. Regarded as the greatest pole vaulter of all time, Duplantis is the current world outdoor and indoor record holder [6.26 m and 6.22 m respectively]. He is a two-time Olympic champion, two-time World outdoor and indoor champion, and the current European champion.
Ernest John Uy Obiena is a Filipino pole vaulter. He is currently ranked world No. 3 in men's pole vault by the 2024 World Athletics Rankings.
The pole vault at the World Athletics Championships has been contested by men since 1983 and women since 1999.
Kurtis Marschall is an Australian pole vaulter, bronze medallist at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
The men's pole vault at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 6 and 8 August.
Christopher Nilsen is an American athlete specialising in pole vault and high jump. He won the silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the pole vault event with a jump of 5.97 m.
