© Stade de France ®
Macary, Zublena et Regembal
Costantini - Architects
ADAGP - Paris - 2002
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COMPETITION  EVENTS |
 POLE VAULT: IT’S ALL IN THE ENERGY CONVERSION
Paris 2003 Saint-Denis
... this event requires strength, finesse and suppleness in equal doses; not forgetting impeccable technique, bravery and that rare ability to defy the laws of gravity.
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| Frenchman Romain Mesnil Vandystadt |
A bit of pole vault history
Pole vaulting can be traced back to Ancient Greece, where Cretans used the technique to leap over bulls. Celts had fun with a pole too, using it for long jump competitions, but it was not until the 18th century when the Germans introduced the vertical form of the discipline that pole vault really began to take off around the world.
From 1850 on, pole vault competitions abounded - not that they resembled today’s version much. The material used to make the pole has very much shaped vaulting styles over the years; the inflexible ash poles of yesteryear forced athletes to climb up the poles as they jumped, adopting body positions that would look very strange in a modern sporting arena. It was the Americans who, towards the end of the 19th century, invented the technique of reversing the legs upwards, clearing the crossbar with stomach facing down.
Bamboo poles came in around 1900 and were popular for half a century or more, right up until Bob Gutowski ushered in a new era for the sport when he vaulted 4.78 metres using an aluminium pole in 1957. That world record only stood for a few months, though, as Don Bragg (USA) went one better, this time with a steel pole, in clearing clear 4.80m. Innovations came thick and fast in the late 1950’s. Copper poles were tested and rejected, landing mattresses introduced, and then, most significantly of all, the flexible fibreglass pole made its first appearance on the international stage. The catapulting action of these new poles brought upward impetus, new vaulting styles, and ever-higher world records.
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| Stacy Dragila Vandystadt |
How to pole vault
The basic concept behind the pole vault is to convert horizontal energy (the run) into vertical energy (to clear the bar). By progressively accelerating on the run to the pit, planting and then bending the pole, the vaulter propels his kinetic energy into the pole, which then returns it as potential energy as it straightens, throwing the vaulter upwards. Then, as the vaulter reaches the bar, he shoots his legs high and twists his body, relying on the “carry”, or forward speed acquired by the run, to take him across the crossbar.
The greatest pole-vaulters of all time
Sergey Bubka (Ukr): A legend. Bubka changed the standards of pole vaulting single-handed; the first vaulter to clear 6 metres, he then broke the 6.10 metre barrier.
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| Sergey Bubka Vandystadt |
The "Tsar" broke 35 world records in his time (18 indoors) and still holds the world record today (6.14 metres). He won every single world championship from 1983 to 1997, but ‘only’ one Olympic Gold medal, in Seoul in 1988.
Cornelius Warmerdam (USA): A “Bubka” of the bamboo era, Warmerdam was at the peak of his form during the Second World War, as he smashed the world record three times in quick succession. His last effort of 4.77 metres, on 23 May 1942 in Modesto, would never be beaten by another vaulter jumping with a bamboo pole. In fact, it was not until Bob Gutowski set a new mark with an aluminium pole some 15 years later, that “Dutch”’s record was finally bettered.
World records
Men: Sergey Bubka (UKR) 6.14 metres
Women: Stacy Dragila (USA) 4.81 metres
Schedule
Women:
Qualifying: 23 August 2003 - 4.40pm
Final: 25 August 2003 - 6.25pm
Men:
Qualifying: 26 August 2003 - 6.45pm
Final: 28 August 2003 - 6.30pm
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