Pole Vault: the sport
Pole vaulting is an event in Field Athletics in which the athlete uses a long, flexible pole (which today is usually made either of fiberglass or carbon fiber) as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts.
Since medieval times poles were used in Europe as a practical means of passing or jumping over obstacles such as open marshes and canals, in places such as provinces of Friesland in The Netherlands, along the North Sea, and the great level of the Fens of Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk in England. Pole vaulting has also been recorded as used by Venetian punters for moving to the shore from their boat.
It has continued to be a folklore activity with annual competitions. Fierljeppen or far-jumping with the pole, a traditional sport of the Frisians and Dutch, though the original form of the sport, has never found its way into global competition. For a very long time, the high jump was the only form of jumping or vaulting recognized in the world of athletics.
Modern competition began around 1850 in Germany, when pole vaulting was added to the exercises of the Turner gymnastic clubs by Johann C. F. GutsMuths and Frederich L. Jahn. The modern pole vaulting technique was developed in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century. In Great Britain, it was first practiced at the Caledonian Games.
It has been a full medal event at the Olympic Games, since 1896 for men, and since 2000 for women.
Today, athletes compete in the pole vault to reach the highest height in the event. Having cleared the highest height, the last competitor remaining in the competition wins. Vaulters are placed first, second and so forth according to their highest cleared height and the number of attempts that were taken to clear that height. A tie can occur when two or more vaulters have the same number of misses at every height.
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 before each jump and can place it between 40 and 80 cm beyond the back of the box, the metal pit that the pole is placed into immediately before takeoff. If the pole used by the athlete dislodges the bar from the uprights a foul attempt is ruled, even if the athlete himself has cleared the height. An athlete does not benefit from quickly leaving the landing pad before the bar has fallen. There is an exception to this rule 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. If the pole breaks during the execution of a vault, the competitor will be allowed another attempt.
