Are pole vaulters tall or short?

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Pole vaulters can be different heights. Being taller is usually seen as an advantage, however the technique and athletic components to complete the pole vault are more important.

To vault higher, you must be able to do the following.

  • Have good speed and acceleration with the pole.
  • Have the upper body strength to hold the pole and execute the technique that will catapult you over the bar.
  • Have good technique to launch you over the bar.

Some of the world’s best pole vaulters had varying heights.

Athlete (Men)HeightPole Vault personal best
Armand Duplantis1.81 m6.21m
Renaud Lavillenie1.76 m6.16 m
Sergey Bubka1.83 m6.15 m
Dmitry Markov1.82 m6.05 m
Athlete (Women)
Yelena Isinbayeva1.74 m5.06 m
Jennifer Suhr1.83 m5.03 m
Yarisley Silva1.61 m4.91 m

You can see from the table that the vaulters are different heights. Both world record holders are under 6 feet in height (1.80m), so it shows that the athletic development is more important than the athlete’s height.

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