The Pole Vault Evolution

Next week the 2024 Summer Olympics begins. Of the many track and field events, I think the pole vault has made the most changes in equipment and in the athletic demands of the participants.

First, a personal comment. In September, my great grandson, Reese, will be starting his freshman year on a pole vault scholarship at the University of Central Arkansas. The first competitive vaulting poles were made from solid ash wood. Bamboos poles replaced the wood. As the heights attained increased, bamboo poles were replaced by tubular aluminum, which was tapered at each end. Currently the poles are made of Fiberglass or Carbon Fiber.

When my high school friend George Weir competed he used a bamboo pole and landed in a sandbox. Now you need a Pole Vault Pit that includes a soft landing cushion.

The first top flight vaulter I knew about was Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam, an American who held the world record for 17 years - 1940 to 1957. He was a student at Fresno State College. Throughout his career he used a bamboo pole.  On April 13, 1940, he was the first vaulter to clear 15 feet (4.57 m). During his career, Warmerdam vaulted over 15 feet 43 times in competition, while no other vaulter cleared 15 feet. He set the pole vault record seven times in a four-year span, and three of those marks were world records. His highest outdoor vault was 15 ft. 7¾ in. (4.77 m), achieved at the Modesto Relays in 1942.

Armand Duplantisisa, a Swedish-American vaulter, set the current world record  at 20 ft. 5 1⁄2 in. (6.24 m) on April 20, 2024. He is the favorite to win the Olympic event next week. Jennifer Suhr, United States, holds the female indoor indoor record of 16 ft 6 in (5.03 m) set on January 30, 2016.

The Olympic records for the event are 19 ft 91⁄4 in (6.03 m) for men, set by Thiago Braz, Brazil, in 2016, and 16 ft 63⁄4 in (5.05 m) for women, set by Yelena Isinbayeva, Russia, in 2008. Isinbayeva's 2008 Olympic mark was a world record at the time and her 2004 victory at 16 ft 11⁄4 in (4.91 m) had been the first women's world record in the pole vault to be set at the Olympics. 

Enjoy the 2024 Summer Olympics.