History of Pole Vault

Pole vault, as we know it today, is a sport in track in field where talented athletes propel themselves to great heights using a fiberglass pole. The athlete then plummets back to earth landing on a soft foam mat. It is an exciting sport that has developed through the centuries. Pole vault started out much differently than we see it today. It's humble beginnings started as a method of war for soldiers to propel the city walls of their enemies. Farmers also used pole vault as a method to cross deep gullies. The first recording of pole vault was in Ireland in 1829 B.C. during the Tailteann games.3

Pole vault began with simple long wooden sticks and over time as people in sports usually do, wanted to scale greater heights. Poles then were made out of metal and today fiberglass is used so the elite athletes can launch themselves as high as 20 feet! The sport has become more complicated using strength, speed, and coordination to complete the task. When pole vault was in its early years the technique was to swing on a straight, stiff  pole but as the sport became advanced  using a pole that would bend became more favorable. Fiberglass poles were not introduced until the 1960s and with this new technology athletes were able to reach heights that were not thought to be possible.1

Not much has changed in the world of pole vault in the last few decades but for a few tweaks. The future for pole vault has been coming to a plateau until recently; in 2014 when France native Renaud Lavillenie broke the 20 year record previously set by the legendary Sergey Bubka. Lavillenie now holds the record at 6.16m.2 Pole vault is a very interesting sport that has traced back to ancient Egypt and has transformed into an event that still mesmerizes people today.

1.Matthew, M. (2010, September 1). Soaring to New Heights: The Evolution of Pole Vaulting and Pole Materials. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://illumin.usc.edu/143/soaring-to-new-heights-the-evolution-of-pole-vaulting-and-pole-materials/

2.Minshull, P. (2015, February 15). RENAUD LAVILLENIE SETS POLE VAULT WORLD RECORD OF 6.16M IN DONETSK. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/renaud-lavillenie-pole-vault-world-record

3.The History Of The Pole Vault. (2008, June 9). Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://american-trackandfield.com/read_feature/history-pole-vault