Pole Vault Facts

Is pole vault dangerous?

June 30, 2019 by Editor

Pole vault is one of the most dangerous events in track and field. As much as it is known for its spectacle, athletes have suffered serious injuries as a result of competing and training in the pole vault.

It’s essential that athletes and coaches that are participating in the pole vault event exert caution to protect the athlete from the risk of injury.

Some of the risks include:

The athlete not landing in the pole vault mats
The pole slipping from the athlete’s hands
The pole hitting the athlete
The athlete hurting themselves on the uprights.
The pole breaking/snapping through the jump

Below are a few videos

Stay safe!

Are pole vaulters tall or short?

March 27, 2019 by Editor

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)	Height	Pole Vault personal best
Renaud Lavillenie	1.76 m	6.16 m
Sergey Bubka	1.83 m	6.15 m
Dmitry Markov	1.82 m	6.05 m
Athlete (Women)
Yelena Isinbayeva	1.74 m	5.06 m
Jennifer Suhr	1.83 m	5.03 m
Yarisley Silva	1.61 m	4.91 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.

What’s the world record for pole vault?

March 24, 2019 by Editor

What is the men’s world record for pole vault?

The current world record for the men’s pole vault is held by Renaud Lavillenie. He successfully cleared 6.16m in Donetsk in Ukraine in an indoor athletics competition.

You can see the video of his pole vault world record below.