Pole vault

Poles were used as a practical means of passing over natural obstacles in marshy places such as the province of Friesland in the Netherlands, along the North Sea, and the great level of the Fens in England across Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. Artificial draining of these marshes created a network of open drains or canals intersecting each other. To cross these without getting soaked, while avoiding tedious roundabout journeys over bridges, a stack of jumping poles was kept at every house and used for vaulting over the canals.^[3]

Distance pole vaulting competitions continue to be held annually in the lowlands around the North Sea. These far-jumping competitions (Frisian: Fierljeppen) are not based on height.^[4]

The earliest recorded pole vaulting competition where height was measured took place at the Ulverston Football and Cricket Club, Lancashire, north of the sands (now Cumbria) in 1843.^[5] Competition began in continental Europe around 1850 in Germany, when pole vaulting was added to the exercises of the Turner gymnastic clubs by Johann C. F. GutsMuths and Friedrich L. Jahn.

Originally, poles were made of ash and from hickory wood. Bamboo poles were introduced in 1904, and both aluminum and steel poles appeared after 1945. Glass fiber vaulting poles were invented in 1967 by James Monroe Lindler of the Columbia Products Company, Columbia, South Carolina. An application filed on 10 March 1967 was granted patent status on 27 January 1970 for the manufacture of, "a vaulting pole of hollow construction with an integral helical winding," and a method of manufacturing the same (see: US Patent US3491999A). The process starts with a metal tube, referred to in the industry as a mandrel, around which is wound a tape made of glass fibers impregnated with a resin. This is baked in an oven and after cooling the mandrel is removed to leave a hollow glass fiber tube. This process was based on a similar method used for manufacturing glass fiber golf clubs patented by the Woolley Manufacturing Company of Escondido, California in 1954 (see: US Patent US2822175A).

In September 2005, Jeffrey P. Watry, Ralph W. Paquin, and Kenneth A. Hursey of Gill Athletic, Champaign, Illinois, filed application to patent a new method of winding the glass fibers around the pole in layers, each wound in a different direction or orientation to provide specific properties to various parts of the pole. This was called Carbon Weave, and their patent was granted on 21 October 2008 (see: US Patent US3491999A). David J. Dodge and William C. Doble of the Alliance Design and Development Group of New York City, New York, were granted a patent in 2006 for the manufacture of, "sports equipment having a tubular structural member" which led to the introduction of carbon fiber vaulting poles in 2007 (see: US Patent US7140398B2).

In 2000, IAAF rule 260.18a (formerly 260.6a) was amended, so that "world records" (as opposed to "indoor world records") can be set in a facility "with or without roof". This rule was not applied retroactively.^[6] With many indoor facilities not conforming to outdoor track specifications for size and flatness, the pole vault was the only world record set indoors until 2022.

Today, athletes compete in the pole vault as one of the four jumping events in track and field. Because the high jump and pole vault are both vertical jumps, the competitions are conducted similarly. Each athlete can choose at what height they would like to enter the competition. Once they enter, they have three attempts to clear the height. If a height is cleared, the vaulter advances to the next height, where they will have three more attempts. Once the vaulter has three consecutive misses, they are out of the competition and the highest height they cleared is their result. A "no height", often denoted "NH", refers to the failure of a vaulter to clear any bar during the competition.

Once the vaulter enters the competition, they can choose to pass heights. If a vaulter achieves a miss on their first attempt at a height, they can pass to the next height, but they will only have two attempts at that height, as they will be out once they achieve three consecutive misses. Similarly, after earning two misses at a height, they could pass to the next height, when they would have only one attempt.

The competitor who clears the highest height is the winner. If two or more vaulters have finished with the same height, the tie is broken by the number of misses at the final height. If the tied vaulters have the same number of misses at the last height cleared, the tie is broken by the total number of misses in the competition.

If there is still a tie for first place, a jump-off occurs to break the tie. Marks achieved in this type of jump-off are considered valid and count for any purpose that a mark achieved in a normal competition would.

If a tie in the other places still exists, a jump-off is not normally conducted, unless the competition is a qualifying meet, and the tie exists in the final qualifying spot. In this case, an administrative jump-off is conducted to break the tie, but the marks are not considered valid for any other purpose than breaking the tie.

A jump-off is a sudden death competition in which the tied vaulters attempt the same height, starting with the last attempted height. If both vaulters miss, the bar goes down by a small increment, and if both clear, the bar goes up by a small increment. A jump-off ends when one vaulter clears and the other misses. Each vaulter gets one attempt at each height until one makes and one misses.

The equipment and rules for pole vaulting are similar to the high jump. Unlike high jump, however, the athlete in the vault has the ability to select the horizontal position of the bar, known as the standards, before each jump and can place it a distance beyond the back of the box, the metal pit that the pole is placed into immediately before takeoff. The range of distance the vaulter may place the standards varies depending on the level of competition.

If the pole used by the athlete dislodges the bar from the uprights, a foul attempt is ruled, even if the athlete has cleared the height. An athlete does not benefit from quickly leaving the landing pad before the bar has fallen. The exception to this rule is if the vaulter is vaulting outdoors and has made a clear effort to throw the pole back, but the wind has blown the pole into the bar; this counts as a clearance. This call is made at the discretion of the pole vault official. If the pole breaks during the execution of a vault, it is considered an equipment failure and is ruled a non-jump, neither a make nor a miss. Other types of equipment failure include the standards slipping down or the wind dislodging the bar when no contact was made by the vaulter.

Each athlete has a set amount of time in which to make an attempt. The amount of time varies by level of competition and the number of vaulters remaining. If the vaulter fails to begin an attempt within this time, the vaulter is charged with a time foul and the attempt is a miss.

Poles are manufactured with ratings corresponding to the vaulter's maximum weight. As a safety precaution, some organizations forbid use of poles rated below the vaulter's weight. The recommended weight roughly corresponds to a flex rating that is determined by the manufacturer by applying a standardized amount of stress (most commonly a 50 lb (23 kg) weight) on the pole and measuring how much the center of the pole is displaced. Therefore, two poles rated at the same weight are not necessarily the same stiffness.

Pole stiffness and length are important factors to a vaulter's performance. Therefore, it is not uncommon for an elite vaulter to carry as many as ten poles to a competition. The effective length of a pole can be changed by gripping the pole higher or lower in relation to the top of the pole. The left and right handgrips are typically a bit more than shoulder width apart. Poles are manufactured for people of all skill levels and body sizes, with lengths between 3.05 m (10 ft 0 in) and 5.30 m (17 ft 5 in) and a wide range of weight ratings. Each manufacturer determines the weight rating for the pole and the location of the maximum handhold band.

Speed is an essential element to high jumps. The horizontal kinetic energy produced by the run ${\displaystyle (E_{k}={\frac {1}{2}}mv^{2})}$ is converted to vertical propulsion ${\displaystyle (E_{p}=mgh)}$ . Assuming no loss of energy ${\displaystyle (E_{k}=E_{p})}$ , this means that ${\displaystyle h={\frac {v^{2}}{2g}}}$ .

Competitive pole vaulting began using solid ash poles. As the heights attained increased, bamboo poles gave way to tubular aluminum,^[7] which was tapered at each end. Today's pole vaulters benefit from poles produced by wrapping pre-cut sheets of fiberglass that contains resin around a metal pole mandrel, to produce a slightly curved pole that bends more easily under the compression caused by an athlete's take-off. The shape of the fiberglass sheets and the amount of fiberglass used is carefully planned to provide the desired length and stiffness of pole. Different fiber types, including carbon-fiber, are used to give poles specific characteristics intended to promote higher jumps. In recent years, carbon fiber has been added to the commonly used E-glass (E for initial electrical use) and S-glass (S for solid) materials to create a lighter pole.

As in the high jump, the landing area was originally a heap of sawdust or sand where athletes landed on their feet. As technology enabled higher vaults, mats evolved into bags of large chunks of foam. Today's mats are foam usually 1–1.5 meters (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in) thick. They are usually built up with two cross-laid square section logs with gaps between them, topped by a solid layer of foam of the same thickness. This lattice construction is wrapped in a close-fitting cover topped with nylon mesh, which allows some air to escape, thus combining both foam and a measure of air cushioning. The final layer is a large mat of mesh-covered foam which is clipped around the edges of the complete pit and prevents the athlete from falling between the individual bags. Mats are growing larger in area as well to minimize risk of injury. Proper landing technique is on the back or shoulders. Landing on the feet should be avoided, to eliminate the risk of injury to the lower extremities, particularly ankle sprains.

Rule changes over the years have resulted in larger landing areas and additional padding of all hard and unyielding surfaces.

The pole vault crossbar has evolved from a triangular aluminum bar to a round fiberglass bar with rubber ends. This is balanced on standards and can be knocked off when it is hit by a pole vaulter or the pole. Rule changes have led to shorter pegs and crossbar ends that are semi-circular.

Phases of pole vaulting

Théo Mancheron competes in the men's decathlon pole vault final during the French Athletics Championships 2013 at Stade Charléty in Paris, 13 July 2013.

Although many techniques are used by vaulters at various skill levels to clear the bar, the generally accepted technical model can be broken down into several phases.

During the approach the pole vaulter sprints down the runway in such a way as to achieve maximum speed and correct position to initiate takeoff at the end of the approach. A tape measure is laid on the runway so vaulters know exactly where to start their run from. Each vaulter has a certain starting distance, dependent on how many steps away from the box they start. Top class vaulters use approaches with 18 to 22 strides, often referred to as a "step" in which every other foot is counted as one step. For example when a vaulter takes 18 strides, it would be referred to as a 9-step, as 22 strides would be an 11-step. The run-up to the vaulting pit begins forcefully with the vaulter running powerfully in a relaxed, upright position with knees lifted and torso leaning very slightly forward. Right handed vaulters will start with a step back with their right foot before starting the run, left handed vaulters with their left back to begin. The head, shoulders and hips are aligned, the vaulter increasing speed as the body becomes erect. The tip of the vaulting pole is angled higher than eye level until three paces from takeoff, when the pole tip descends efficiently, amplifying run speed as the pole is planted into the vault box. The faster the vaulter can run and the more efficient their take-off is, the greater the kinetic energy that can be achieved and used during the vault.

The plant and take-off is initiated typically three steps out from the final step. Vaulters will usually count their steps backwards from their starting point to the box only counting the steps taken on the left foot (vice versa for left-handers). For example, a vaulter on a "ten count" (referring to the number of counted steps from the starting point to the box) would count backwards from ten, only counting the steps taken with the left foot. These last three steps are normally quicker than the previous strides and are referred to as the "turn-over". The goal of this phase is to efficiently translate the kinetic energy accumulated from the approach into potential energy stored by the elasticity of the pole, and to gain as much initial vertical height as possible by jumping off the ground. The plant starts with the vaulter raising their arms up from around the hips or mid-torso until they are fully outstretched above the head, with the right arm extended directly above the head and the left arm extended perpendicular to the pole (vice versa for left-handed vaulters). At the same time, the vaulter is dropping the pole tip into the box. On the final step, the vaulter jumps off the trail leg which should always remain straight and then drives the front knee forward. As the pole slides into the back of the box the pole begins to bend and the vaulter continues up and forward, leaving the trail leg angled down and behind, the body in a backwards 'C' position.

The swing and row simply consists of the vaulter swinging the trail leg forward and rowing the pole, bringing the top arm down to the hips, while trying to keep the trail leg straight to store more potential energy into the pole, the rowing motion also keeps the pole bent for a longer period of time for the vaulter to get into optimum position. When parallel to the pole the left arm hugs the pole tight to efficiently use the recoil within the pole. The goal is to carry out these motions as thoroughly and as quickly as possible; it is a race against the unbending of the pole. Effectively, this causes a double pendulum motion, with the top of the pole moving forward and pivoting from the box, while the vaulter acts as a second pendulum pivoting from the right hand. This action gives the vaulter the best position possible to be "ejected" off the pole. The swing continues until the hips are above the head and the arms are pulling the pole close to the chest; from there the vaulter shoots their legs up over the cross bar while keeping the pole close.^[8][9]

The extension refers to the extension of the hips upward with outstretched legs as the shoulders drive down, causing the vaulter to be positioned upside down. This position is often referred to as "inversion". While this phase is executed, the pole begins to recoil, propelling the vaulter quickly upward. The hands of the vaulter remain close to the body as they move from the shins back to the region around the hips and upper torso.

The turn is executed immediately during the end of the rockback. As the name implies, the vaulter turns 180° toward the pole while extending the arms down past the head and shoulders. Typically the vaulter will begin to angle their body toward the bar as the turn is executed, although ideally the vaulter will remain as vertical as possible. A more accurate description of this phase of the vault may be "the spin" because the vaulter spins around an imaginary axis from head to toe.

This is often highly emphasized by spectators and novice vaulters, but it is the easiest phase of the vault and is a result of proper execution of previous phases. This phase mainly consists of the vaulter pushing off the pole and releasing it so the pole falls away from the crossbar and mats. As the torso goes over and around the crossbar, the vaulter is facing the crossbar. Rotation of the body over the bar occurs naturally, and the vaulter's main concern is making sure that their arms, face and any other appendages do not knock the bar off as they go over, you should aim to whip your upper torso around the top of the cross bar to ensure your elbows and face don't knock it off. The elite vaulter's center of gravity passes underneath the crossbar when they have their hips in the highest position like the crotch of an upside-down 'V'. The vaulter should land near the middle of the foam landing mats, or pit, face up. Landing on the feet or stomach first may lead to injuries or other problems.

Bar

The cross bar that is suspended above the ground by the standards.

Box

A trapezoidal indentation in the ground with a metal or fiberglass covering at the end of the runway in which vaulters "plant" their pole. The back wall of the box is nearly vertical and is approximately 8 inches (20 cm) in depth. The bottom of the box gradually slopes upward approximately 3 feet (90 cm) until it is level with the runway. The covering in the box ensures the pole will slide to the back of the box without catching on anything. The covering's lip overlaps onto the runway and ensures a smooth transition from all-weather surface so a pole being planted does not catch on the box.

Drive knee

During the plant phase, the knee is driven forward at the time of "takeoff" to help propel the vaulter upward.

Grip

The location of the vaulter's top hand on the pole. As the vaulter improves, their grip may move up the pole incrementally. The other hand is typically placed shoulder-width down from the top hand. Hands are not allowed to grip the very top of the pole (their hand perpendicular to the pole) for safety reasons.

Jump foot

The foot that the vaulter uses to leave the ground as they begin their vault. It is also referred to as the take-off foot.

Pit

The mats used for landing in pole vault.

Plant position

The position a vaulter is in the moment the pole reaches the back of the box and the vaulter begins their vault. Their arms are fully extended and their drive knee begins to come up as they jump.

Pole

The fiberglass equipment used to propel the vaulter up and over the bar. One side is stiffer than the other to facilitate the bending of the pole after the plant. A vaulter may rest the pole on their arm to determine which side is the stiff side.

Standards

The equipment that holds the bar at a particular height above the ground. Standards may be adjusted to raise and lower the bar and also to adjust the horizontal position of the bar.

Steps

Since the box is in a fixed position, vaulters must adjust their approach to ensure they are in the correct position when attempting to vault.

Swing leg or trail leg

The swing leg is also the jump foot. After a vaulter has left the ground, the leg that was last touching the ground stays extended and swings forward to help propel the vaulter upwards.

Volzing

A method of holding or pushing the bar back onto the pegs while jumping over a height. This takes considerable skill, although it is now against the rules and counted as a miss. The technique is named after U.S. Olympian Dave Volz, who made an art form of the practice and surprised many by making the U.S. Olympic team in 1992.

• As of June 2024^[update].^{[10][11][12][13]}

Ath.#	Perf.#	Mark	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	6.24 m (20 ft 5+1⁄2 in)	Armand Duplantis	Sweden	20 April 2024	Xiamen	[14]
	2	6.23 m (20 ft 5+1⁄4 in)	Duplantis #2		17 September 2023	Eugene	[15]
	3	6.21 m (20 ft 4+1⁄4 in)	Duplantis #3		24 July 2022	Eugene
	4	6.16 m (20 ft 2+1⁄2 in)	Duplantis #4		30 June 2022	Stockholm	[16]
	5	6.15 m (20 ft 2 in)	Duplantis #5		17 September 2020	Rome
2	6	6.14 m (20 ft 1+1⁄2 in) A	Sergey Bubka	Ukraine	31 July 1994	Sestriere
	7	6.13 m (20 ft 1+1⁄4 in)	Bubka #2		19 September 1992	Tokyo
	8	6.12 m (20 ft 3⁄4 in)	Bubka #3		30 August 1992	Padua
			Duplantis #6		27 June 2023	Ostrava	[17]
	10	6.11 m (20 ft 1⁄2 in)	Bubka #4		13 June 1992	Dijon
			Duplantis #7		4 June 2023	Hengelo	[18]
	12	6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)	Bubka #5		5 August 1991	Malmö
			Duplantis #8		6 June 2021	Hengelo
			Duplantis #9		6 August 2022	Chorzów	[19]
			Duplantis #10		25 August 2022	Lausanne	[20]
			Duplantis #11		26 August 2023	Budapest	[21]
			Duplantis #12		8 September 2023	Brussels	[22]
			Duplantis #13		12 June 2024	Rome	[23]
	19	6.09 m (19 ft 11+3⁄4 in)	Bubka #6		8 July 1991	Formia
	20	6.08 m (19 ft 11+1⁄4 in)	Bubka #7		9 June 1991	Moscow
	21	6.07 m (19 ft 10+3⁄4 in)	Bubka #8		6 May 1991	Shizuoka
			Duplantis #14		2 September 2020	Lausanne
			Duplantis #15		8 September 2022	Zürich	[24]
3	21	6.07 m (19 ft 10+3⁄4 in)	KC Lightfoot	United States	2 June 2023	Nashville	[25]
	25	6.06 m (19 ft 10+1⁄2 in)	Bubka #9		10 July 1988	Nice
4	25	6.06 m (19 ft 10+1⁄2 in)	Sam Kendricks	United States	27 July 2019	Des Moines	[26]
	25	6.06 m (19 ft 10+1⁄2 in)	Duplantis #16		9 September 2021	Zürich	[27]
			Duplantis #17		20 August 2022	Munich	[28]
5		6.05 m (19 ft 10 in)	Maksim Tarasov	Russia	16 June 1999	Athens
			Dmitri Markov	Australia	9 August 2001	Edmonton
			Renaud Lavillenie	France	30 May 2015	Eugene
8		6.04 m (19 ft 9+3⁄4 in)	Brad Walker	United States	8 June 2008	Eugene
9		6.03 m (19 ft 9+1⁄4 in)	Okkert Brits	South Africa	18 August 1995	Cologne
			Jeff Hartwig	United States	14 June 2000	Jonesboro
			Thiago Braz	Brazil	15 August 2016	Rio de Janeiro	[29]
12		6.02 m (19 ft 9 in)	Piotr Lisek	Poland	12 July 2019	Monaco	[30]
13		6.01 m (19 ft 8+1⁄2 in)	Igor Trandenkov	Russia	3 July 1996	St. Petersburg
			Timothy Mack	United States	18 September 2004	Monaco
			Yevgeny Lukyanenko	Russia	1 July 2008	Bydgoszcz
			Björn Otto	Germany	5 September 2012	Aachen
17		6.00 m (19 ft 8 in)	Radion Gataullin	Soviet Union	16 September 1989	Tokyo
			Tim Lobinger	Germany	24 August 1997	Cologne
			Toby Stevenson	United States	8 May 2004	Modesto
			Paul Burgess	Australia	26 February 2005	Perth
			Steve Hooker	Australia	27 January 2008	Perth
			Timur Morgunov	Authorised Neutral Athletes	12 August 2018	Berlin	[31]
			Chris Nilsen	United States	6 May 2022	Sioux Falls	[32]
			Ernest John Obiena	Philippines	10 June 2023	Bergen	[33]
					26 August 2023	Budapest	[21]
25		5.98 m (19 ft 7+1⁄4 in)	Lawrence Johnson	United States	25 May 1996	Knoxville
			Jean Galfione	France	23 July 1999	Amiens

Ath.#	Perf.#	Mark	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	5.06 m (16 ft 7 in)	Yelena Isinbayeva	Russia	28 August 2009	Zürich
	2	5.05 m (16 ft 6+3⁄4 in)	Isinbayeva #2		18 August 2008	Beijing
	3	5.04 m (16 ft 6+1⁄4 in)	Isinbayeva #3		29 July 2008	Monaco
	4	5.03 m (16 ft 6 in)	Isinbayeva #4		11 July 2008	Rome
	5	5.01 m (16 ft 5 in)	Isinbayeva #5		12 August 2005	Helsinki
2	5	5.01 m (16 ft 5 in)	Anzhelika Sidorova	Authorised Neutral Athletes	9 September 2021	Zürich	[34]
	7	5.00 m (16 ft 4+3⁄4 in)	Isinbayeva #6		22 July 2005	London
3	7	5.00 m (16 ft 4+3⁄4 in)	Sandi Morris	United States	9 September 2016	Brussels	[35]
	9	4.96 m (16 ft 3+1⁄4 in)	Isinbayeva #7		22 July 2005	London
	10	4.95 m (16 ft 2+3⁄4 in)	Isinbayeva #8		16 July 2005	Madrid
			Morris #2		27 July 2018	Greenville
			Sidorova #2		29 September 2019	Doha	[36]
4	10	4.95 m (16 ft 2+3⁄4 in)	Katie Nageotte	United States	26 June 2021	Eugene
5	14	4.94 m (16 ft 2+1⁄4 in)	Eliza McCartney	New Zealand	17 July 2018	Jockgrim	[37]
	15	4.93 m (16 ft 2 in)	Isinbayeva #9		5 July 2005	Lausanne
			Isinbayeva #10		26 August 2005	Brussels
			Isinbayeva #11		25 July 2008	London
			Morris #3		23 July 2016	Houston
6	15	4.93 m (16 ft 2 in)	Jennifer Suhr	United States	14 April 2018	Austin
	15	4.93 m (16 ft 2 in)	Nageotte #2		23 May 2021	Marietta
	21	4.92 m (16 ft 1+1⁄2 in)	Isinbayeva #12		3 September 2004	Brussels
			Suhr #2		6 July 2008	Eugene
			McCartney #2		23 June 2018	Mannheim
			Nageotte #3		1 August 2020	Marietta
7	21	4.92 m (16 ft 1+1⁄2 in)	Molly Caudery	Great Britain	22 June 2024	Toulouse	[38]
8		4.91 m (16 ft 1+1⁄4 in)	Yarisley Silva	Cuba	2 August 2015	Beckum
			Katerina Stefanidi	Greece	6 August 2017	London	[39]
10		4.90 m (16 ft 3⁄4 in)	Holly Bradshaw	Great Britain	26 June 2021	Manchester
			Nina Kennedy	Australia	23 August 2023	Budapest	[40]
12		4.88 m (16 ft 0 in)	Svetlana Feofanova	Russia	4 July 2004	Herakleion
13		4.87 m (15 ft 11+1⁄2 in)	Fabiana Murer	Brazil	3 July 2016	São Bernardo do Campo	[41]
14		4.85 m (15 ft 10+3⁄4 in)	Wilma Murto	Finland	17 August 2022	Munich	[42]
15		4.83 m (15 ft 10 in)	Stacy Dragila	United States	8 June 2004	Ostrava
			Anna Rogowska	Poland	26 August 2005	Brussels
			Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou	Greece	4 July 2015	Paris	[43]
			Michaela Meijer	Sweden	1 August 2020	Norrköping	[44]
19		4.82 m (15 ft 9+3⁄4 in)	Monika Pyrek	Poland	22 September 2007	Stuttgart
			Silke Spiegelburg	Germany	20 July 2012	Monaco
			Alysha Newman	Canada	24 August 2019	Paris	[45]
22		4.81 m (15 ft 9+1⁄4 in)	Alana Boyd	Australia	12 June 2008	Ostrava	[46]
			Tina Šutej	Slovenia	16 September 2023	Eugene	[47]
24		4.80 m (15 ft 8+3⁄4 in)	Martina Strutz	Germany	30 August 2011	Daegu
			Angelica Bengtsson	Sweden	29 September 2019	Doha
			Polina Knoroz	Russia	15 June 2024	Kazan	[48]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Mark	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	6.22 m (20 ft 4+3⁄4 in)	Armand Duplantis	Sweden	25 February 2023	Clermont-Ferrand	[49]
	2	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in)	Duplantis #2		20 March 2022	Belgrade	[50]
	3	6.19 m (20 ft 3+1⁄2 in)	Duplantis #3		7 March 2022	Belgrade	[51]
	4	6.18 m (20 ft 3+1⁄4 in)	Duplantis #4		15 February 2020	Glasgow
	5	6.17 m (20 ft 2+3⁄4 in)	Duplantis #5		8 February 2020	Toruń
2	6	6.16 m (20 ft 2+1⁄2 in)	Renaud Lavillenie	France	15 February 2014	Donetsk	[52]
3	7	6.15 m (20 ft 2 in)	Sergey Bubka	Ukraine	21 February 1993	Donetsk
	8	6.14 m (20 ft 1+1⁄2 in)	Bubka #2		13 February 1993	Liévin
	9	6.13 m (20 ft 1+1⁄4 in)	Bubka #3		21 February 1992	Berlin
	10	6.12 m (20 ft 3⁄4 in)	Bubka #4		23 March 1991	Grenoble
	11	6.11 m (20 ft 1⁄2 in)	Bubka #5		19 March 1991	Donetsk
	12	6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)	Bubka #6		15 March 1991	San Sebastián
			Duplantis #6		24 February 2021	Belgrade
			Duplantis #7		2 February 2023	Uppsala	[53]
	15	6.08 m (19 ft 11+1⁄4 in)	Bubka #7		9 February 1991	Volgograd
			Lavillenie #2		31 January 2014	Bydgoszcz
	17	6.07 m (19 ft 10+3⁄4 in)	Duplantis #8		19 February 2020	Liévin
4	18	6.06 m (19 ft 10+1⁄2 in)	Steve Hooker	Australia	7 February 2009	Boston
	18	6.06 m (19 ft 10+1⁄2 in)	Lavillenie #3		27 February 2021	Aubière
			Duplantis #9		10 February 2023	Berlin	[54]
	21	6.05 m (19 ft 10 in)	Bubka #8		17 March 1990	Donetsk
			Bubka #9		5 March 1993	Berlin
			Bubka #10		6 February 1994	Grenoble
			Duplantis #10		7 March 2021	Toruń
			Duplantis #11		19 February 2022	Birmingham	[55]
5	21	6.05 m (19 ft 10 in)	Chris Nilsen	United States	5 March 2022	Rouen	[56][57]
	21	6.05 m (19 ft 10 in)	Duplantis #12		3 March 2024	Glasgow	[58]
6		6.02 m (19 ft 9 in)	Radion Gataullin	Soviet Union	4 February 1989	Gomel
			Jeff Hartwig	United States	10 March 2002	Sindelfingen
8		6.01 m (19 ft 8+1⁄2 in)	Sam Kendricks	United States	8 February 2020	Rouen
9		6.00 m (19 ft 8 in)	Maksim Tarasov	Russia	5 February 1999	Budapest
			Jean Galfione	France	6 March 1999	Maebashi
			Danny Ecker	Germany	11 February 2001	Dortmund
		6.00 m (19 ft 8 in) A	Shawnacy Barber	Canada	15 January 2016	Reno
		6.00 m (19 ft 8 in)	Piotr Lisek	Poland	4 February 2017	Potsdam
			KC Lightfoot	United States	13 February 2021	Lubbock	[59]
		6.00 m (19 ft 8 in) A	Sondre Guttormsen	Norway	10 March 2023	Albuquerque	[60]
16		5.96 m (19 ft 6+1⁄2 in)	Lawrence Johnson	United States	3 March 2001	Atlanta
			Menno Vloon	Netherlands	27 February 2021	Aubière
18		5.95 m (19 ft 6+1⁄4 in)	Tim Lobinger	Germany	18 February 2000	Chemnitz
			Thiago Braz	Brazil	20 March 2022	Belgrade	c
20		5.94 m (19 ft 5+3⁄4 in)	Philippe Collet	France	10 March 1990	Grenoble
21		5.93 m (19 ft 5+1⁄4 in)	Billy Olson	United States	8 February 1986	East Rutherford
			Tye Harvey	United States	3 March 2001	Atlanta
			Ernest John Obiena	Philippines	23 February 2024	Berlin	[61]
24		5.92 m (19 ft 5 in)	Igor Potapovich	Kazakhstan	19 February 1998	Stockholm
			Björn Otto	Germany	18 February 2012	Potsdam

Ath.#	Perf.#	Mark	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	5.03 m (16 ft 6 in)	Jennifer Suhr	United States	30 January 2016	Brockport	[62]
	2	5.02 m (16 ft 5+1⁄2 in) A	Suhr #2		2 March 2013	Albuquerque
2	3	5.01 m (16 ft 5 in)	Yelena Isinbayeva	Russia	23 February 2012	Stockholm
	4	5.00 m (16 ft 4+3⁄4 in)	Isinbayeva #2		15 February 2009	Donetsk
	5	4.97 m (16 ft 3+1⁄2 in)	Isinbayeva #3		15 February 2009	Donetsk
	6	4.95 m (16 ft 2+3⁄4 in)	Isinbayeva #4		16 February 2008	Donetsk
3	6	4.95 m (16 ft 2+3⁄4 in)	Sandi Morris	United States	12 March 2016	Portland
	6	4.95 m (16 ft 2+3⁄4 in)	Morris #2		3 March 2018	Birmingham
3	6	4.95 m (16 ft 2+3⁄4 in)	Anzhelika Sidorova	Authorised Neutral Athletes	29 February 2020	Moscow	[63]
5	10	4.94 m (16 ft 2+1⁄4 in)	Katie Nageotte	United States	11 June 2021	Marietta
	11	4.93 m (16 ft 2 in)	Isinbayeva #5		10 February 2007	Donetsk
	12	4.92 m (16 ft 1+1⁄2 in)	Sidorova #2		25 February 2020	Moscow
	13	4.91 m (16 ft 1+1⁄4 in)	Isinbayeva #6		12 February 2006	Donetsk
			Suhr #3		16 January 2016	Kent
	13	4.91 m (16 ft 1+1⁄4 in) A	Nageotte #2		18 February 2018	Albuquerque
	13	4.91 m (16 ft 1+1⁄4 in)	Sidorova #3		8 February 2019	Madrid
			Morris #3		8 February 2020	New York City
6	13	4.91 m (16 ft 1+1⁄4 in)	Nina Kennedy	Australia	30 August 2023	Zürich	[64]
	19	4.90 m (16 ft 3⁄4 in)	Isinbayeva #7		6 March 2005	Madrid
			Isinbayeva #8		26 February 2009	Prague
7	19	4.90 m (16 ft 3⁄4 in)	Katerina Stefanidi	Greece	20 February 2016	New York City	[65]
			Demi Payne	United States	20 February 2016	New York City	[65]
	19	4.90 m (16 ft 3⁄4 in)	Suhr #4		12 March 2016	Portland
			Suhr #5		17 March 2016	Portland
	19	4.90 m (16 ft 3⁄4 in) A	Morris #4		12 January 2018	Reno
	19	4.90 m (16 ft 3⁄4 in)	Sidorova #4		3 March 2018	Birmingham
	19	4.90 m (16 ft 3⁄4 in) A	Morris #5		15 February 2020	Albuquerque
	19	4.90 m (16 ft 3⁄4 in)	Sidorova #5		21 February 2021	Moscow
9		4.87 m (15 ft 11+1⁄2 in)	Holly Bradshaw	Great Britain	20 January 2012	Villeurbanne
10		4.86 m (15 ft 11+1⁄4 in)	Molly Caudery	Great Britain	24 February 2024	Rouen	[66]
11		4.85 m (15 ft 10+3⁄4 in)	Svetlana Feofanova	Russia	22 February 2004	Peania
			Anna Rogowska	Poland	6 March 2011	Paris
13		4.84 m (15 ft 10+1⁄2 in)	Eliza McCartney	New Zealand	10 February 2024	Liévin	[67]
14		4.83 m (15 ft 10 in)	Fabiana Murer	Brazil	7 February 2015	Nevers
			Alysha Newman	Canada	22 February 2024	Clermont-Ferrand	[68]
16		4.82 m (15 ft 9+3⁄4 in)	Yarisley Silva	Cuba	24 April 2013	Des Moines
			Tina Šutej	Slovenia	2 February 2023	Ostrava	[53]
18		4.81 m (15 ft 9+1⁄4 in)	Stacy Dragila	United States	6 March 2004	Budapest
			Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou	Greece	17 February 2016	Stockholm
			Angelica Bengtsson	Sweden	24 February 2019	Clermont-Ferrand	[69]
			Polina Knoroz	Authorised Neutral Athletes	19 February 2022	Clermont-Ferrand	[70]
			Wilma Murto	Finland	6 January 2024	Kuortane	[71]
23		4.80 m (15 ft 8+3⁄4 in)	Nicole Büchler	Switzerland	17 March 2016	Portland
			Iryna Zhuk	Belarus	17 February 2022	Liévin	[72]
25		4.78 m (15 ft 8 in)	Robeilys Peinado	Venezuela	19 February 2020	Liévin	[73]
			Olivia Gruver	United States	7 February 2021	Fayetteville	[74]

The "six metres club" consists of pole vaulters who have reached at least 6.00 m (19 ft 8 in).^[75] In 1985 Sergey Bubka became the first pole vaulter to clear six metres.

Mark	Athlete	Nation	Outdoors	Indoors	Season first cleared 6 metres
6.24	Armand Duplantis	Sweden	6.24	6.22	2018
6.16	Renaud Lavillenie	France	6.05	6.16	2009
6.15	Sergey Bubka	Soviet Union /  Ukraine	6.14	6.15	1985
6.07	KC Lightfoot	United States	6.07	6.00	2021
6.06	Steve Hooker	Australia	6.00	6.06	2008
	Sam Kendricks	United States	6.06	6.01	2017
6.05	Maksim Tarasov	Russia	6.05	6.00	1997
	Dmitri Markov	Belarus /  Australia	6.05	5.85	1998
	Chris Nilsen	United States	6.00	6.05	2022
6.04	Brad Walker	United States	6.04	5.86	2006
6.03	Okkert Brits	South Africa	6.03	5.90	1995
	Jeff Hartwig	United States	6.03	6.02	1998
	Thiago Braz	Brazil	6.03	5.95	2016
6.02	Radion Gataullin	Soviet Union /  Russia	6.00	6.02	1989
	Piotr Lisek	Poland	6.02	6.00	2017
6.01	Igor Trandenkov	Russia	6.01	5.90	1996
	Timothy Mack	United States	6.01	5.85	2004
	Yevgeny Lukyanenko	Russia	6.01	5.90	2008
	Björn Otto	Germany	6.01	5.92	2012
6.00	Tim Lobinger	Germany	6.00	5.95	1997
	Jean Galfione	France	5.98	6.00	1999
	Danny Ecker	Germany	5.93	6.00	2001
	Toby Stevenson	United States	6.00	5.81	2004
	Paul Burgess	Australia	6.00	5.80	2005
	Shawnacy Barber	Canada	5.93	6.00	2016
	Timur Morgunov	Authorised Neutral Athletes	6.00	5.91	2018
	Sondre Guttormsen	Norway	5.86	6.00	2023
	Ernest John Obiena	Philippines	6.00	5.91	2023

Four women have cleared 5 metres. Yelena Isinbayeva was the first to clear 5.00 m (16 ft 4+3⁄4 in) on 22 July 2005. On 2 March 2013, Jennifer Suhr cleared 5.02 m (16 ft 5+1⁄2 in) indoors to become the second. Sandi Morris cleared 5.00 m (16 ft 4+3⁄4 in) on 9 September 2016, to become the third. Anzhelika Sidorova cleared 5.01 m (16 ft 5 in) at the Diamond League final in Zürich on 9 September 2021.

Mark	Athlete	Nation	Outdoors	Indoors	Season first cleared 5 metres
5.06	Yelena Isinbayeva	Russia	5.06	5.01	2005
5.03	Jennifer Suhr	United States	4.93	5.03	2013
5.01	Anzhelika Sidorova	Authorised Neutral Athletes	5.01	4.95	2021
5.00	Sandi Morris	United States	5.00	4.95	2016

This is a list of the first time a milestone mark was cleared.^[76]

Mark	Athlete	Nation	Date
13 ft (3.96 m)	Robert Gardner	United States	1 June 1912
4 m (13 ft 1+1⁄2 in)	Marc Wright	United States	8 June 1912
14 ft (4.27 m)	Sabin Carr	United States	27 May 1927
4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)	William Sefton[77]	United States	29 May 1937
15 ft (4.57 m)	Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam	United States	13 April 1940
16 ft (4.88 m)	John Uelses	United States	31 March 1962
5 m (16 ft 5 in)	Brian Sternberg	United States	27 April 1963
17 ft (5.18 m)	John Pennel	United States	24 August 1963
18 ft (5.49 m)	Christos Papanikolaou	Greece	24 October 1970
5.5 m (18 ft 1⁄2 in)	Kjell Isaksson	Sweden	8 April 1972
19 ft (5.79 m)	Thierry Vigneron	France	20 June 1981
6 m (19 ft 8 in)	Sergey Bubka	Soviet Union	13 July 1985
20 ft (6.10 m)	Sergey Bubka	Soviet Union	16 March 1991 (indoors) 5 August 1991 (outdoors)

This is a list of the first-time milestones for women.

Mark	Athlete	Nation	Date
4 m (13 ft 1+1⁄2 in)	Zhang Chunzhen	China	24 March 1991
14 ft (4.27 m)	Emma George[78]	Australia	17 December 1995
4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)	Emma George	Australia	8 February 1997
15 ft (4.57 m)	Emma George[79]	Australia	14 March 1998
16 ft (4.88 m)	Svetlana Feofanova	Russia	4 July 2004
5 m (16 ft 5 in)	Yelena Isinbayeva	Russia	22 July 2005

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1985 Paris[A] details	Sergei Bubka (URS)	Thierry Vigneron (FRA)	Vasiliy Bubka (URS)
1987 Indianapolis details	Sergei Bubka (URS)	Earl Bell (USA)	Thierry Vigneron (FRA)
1989 Budapest details	Radion Gataullin (URS)	Grigoriy Yegorov (URS)	Joe Dial (USA)
1991 Seville details	Sergei Bubka (URS)	Viktor Ryzhenkov (URS)	Ferenc Salbert (FRA)
1993 Toronto details	Radion Gataullin (RUS)	Grigoriy Yegorov (KAZ)	Jean Galfione (FRA)
1995 Barcelona details	Sergei Bubka (UKR)	Igor Potapovich (KAZ)	Okkert Brits (RSA)  Andrei Tivontchik (GER)
1997 Paris details	Igor Potapovich (KAZ)	Lawrence Johnson (USA)	Maksim Tarasov (RUS)
1999 Maebashi details	Jean Galfione (FRA)	Jeff Hartwig (USA)	Danny Ecker (GER)
2001 Lisbon details	Lawrence Johnson (USA)	Tye Harvey (USA)	Romain Mesnil (FRA)
2003 Birmingham details	Tim Lobinger (GER)	Michael Stolle (GER)	Rens Blom (NED)
2004 Budapest details	Igor Pavlov (RUS)	Adam Ptáček (CZE)	Denys Yurchenko (UKR)
2006 Moscow details	Brad Walker (USA)	Alhaji Jeng (SWE)	Tim Lobinger (GER)
2008 Valencia details	Yevgeny Lukyanenko (RUS)	Brad Walker (USA)	Steve Hooker (AUS)
2010 Doha details	Steve Hooker (AUS)	Malte Mohr (GER)	Alexander Straub (GER)
2012 Istanbul details	Renaud Lavillenie (FRA)	Björn Otto (GER)	Brad Walker (USA)
2014 Sopot details	Konstadinos Filippidis (GRE)	Malte Mohr (GER)	Jan Kudlička (CZE)
2016 Portland details	Renaud Lavillenie (FRA)	Sam Kendricks (USA)	Piotr Lisek (POL)
2018 Birmingham details	Renaud Lavillenie (FRA)	Sam Kendricks (USA)	Piotr Lisek (POL)
2022 Belgrade details	Armand Duplantis (SWE)	Thiago Braz (BRA)	Chris Nilsen (USA)
2024 Glasgow details	Armand Duplantis (SWE)	Sam Kendricks (USA)	Emmanouil Karalis (GRE)

• ^A Known as the World Indoor Games

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1997 Paris details	Stacy Dragila (USA)	Emma George (AUS)	Cai Weiyan (CHN)
1999 Maebashi details	Nastja Ryshich (GER)	Vala Flosadóttir (ISL)	Nicole Humbert (GER)  Zsuzsanna Szabó-Olgyai (HUN)
2001 Lisbon details	Pavla Hamáčková (CZE)	Svetlana Feofanova (RUS)  Kellie Suttle (USA)	none awarded
2003 Birmingham details	Svetlana Feofanova (RUS)	Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS)	Monika Pyrek (POL)
2004 Budapest details	Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS)	Stacy Dragila (USA)	Svetlana Feofanova (RUS)
2006 Moscow details	Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS)	Anna Rogowska (POL)	Svetlana Feofanova (RUS)
2008 Valencia details	Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS)	Jennifer Stuczynski (USA)	Fabiana Murer (BRA)  Monika Pyrek (POL)
2010 Doha details	Fabiana Murer (BRA)	Svetlana Feofanova (RUS)	Anna Rogowska (POL)
2012 Istanbul details	Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS)	Vanessa Boslak (FRA)	Holly Bleasdale (GBR)
2014 Sopot details	Yarisley Silva (CUB)	Anzhelika Sidorova (RUS)  Jiřina Svobodová (CZE)	none awarded
2016 Portland details	Jennifer Suhr (USA)	Sandi Morris (USA)	Katerina Stefanidi (GRE)
2018 Birmingham details	Sandi Morris (USA)	Anzhelika Sidorova (ANA)	Katerina Stefanidi (GRE)
2022 Belgrade details	Sandi Morris (USA)	Katie Nageotte (USA)	Tina Šutej (SLO)
2024 Glasgow details	Molly Caudery (GBR)	Eliza McCartney (NZL)	Katie Moon (USA)

• Sport of athletics portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pole vault.

• IAAF list of pole-vault records in XML
• All-time Masters men's Pole Vault list Archived 16 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine
• All-time Masters women's Pole Vault list Archived 29 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine