Pole Vault Body Mass: Men Vs. Women

Take 20 world-class male and female pole vaulters, average their individual vaults and you will see that the men vault 1.13 meters higher on average than women. This disparity holds for men vs. women ranked first, second, third and so on. Both groups are made up of superb athletes, so what causes the difference? For the answer, you need to examine each of the the factors that go into the pole vault height equation: Hmax = Cm + 1/2(V-squared/g).

  1. Body Mass is Neutral

    • Body mass is neutral in pole vaulting.

      Because the male vaulter in our sample, on average, weighs 17kg more than the female vaulter, he has more body mass. With more body mass, he can generate more kinetic energy during the approach sprint. But body mass does not propel him to a higher vault. The pole, whose stiffness is customized for a vaulter's weight, is the equalizer. A 90kg vaulter needs to put about twice as much energy into his stiffer vaulting pole as the vaulter weighing 45kg puts into her more flexible one to get the same amount of bend. The pole absorbs all of the vaulter's energy while bending and then returns all of it as it straightens out. In effect, the poles neutralize body mass differences and so body mass does not appear in the height equation.

    Center-of-Mass Aids Height

    • Center-of-mass, more or less.

      Center-of-mass, the vaulter's center of gravity, written as “Cm” in the formula Hmax = Cm + ½ (V-squared/g) is calculated to be 55 percent of the vaulter's stature. The average 1.83 meter tall male vaulter in our sample has his center-of-mass at 1.01cm, 0.7 centimeters higher than the average of 94 centimeters for female vaulters. Center-of-mass has a small, positive effect on vault height. Even a difference this small can be crucial at the top of the vault where the vaulter must raise the center-of-mass above--and rotate it over--the bar without dislodging it.

    Speed Is the Key

    • Sprint speed has the most effect on vault height.

      “V-squared” in the formula is the sprint speed in meters per second. The remaining term, “g,” is a constant 9.8, representing the force of gravity. Simply put, of all the factors that come into play during a vault, superior sprint speed provides most of the male vaulter's advantage. On average, the male vaulters in our sample sprint 1.04 meters per second, or almost 11 percent faster than the female cohort.

    Being Taller Also Helps

    • Our male vaulter sample is 12cm taller on average than his female counterpart. This benefits him in two ways. First, a taller sprinter, able to hold the pole higher during run-up, builds more potential energy at lift-off than a shorter sprinter. Second, he derives some additional mechanical advantage during the launch because he can plant the pole in the box at a smaller (sharper) angle.

    Other Factors

    • Typically, greater arm, shoulder and torso strength also favor the male vaulter. But in technique, such as pole grip and handling during the run-up, pole plant, push off, body motion on the way up, rotation at the top and pole release, there is no discernible sex-based difference. Though equal in athleticism and technique, female vaulters, as configured by genetics, can only aspire to eclipsing their male peers--for now.