Origins of Pole Vaulting

The sophisticated fiberglass poles and padded pits of modern-day pole vaulting make it difficult to envision the sport's more humble origins. The strategic planting of sticks, spears and poles, however, was a skill perfected by societies both ancient and medieval. The technique was commonly used to travel over rough terrain and to mount assaults on high fortifications. These historic beginnings were the harbinger of the modern form of pole vaulting that was developed in the late 1700s.

  1. Historical Origins

    • Remnants of pole vaulting's heritage can still be evidenced in the artwork and writing of ancient civilizations. Lapidary drawings in Egypt, dating as far back as the Old Kingdom (around 2686 BC), depict Egyptian warriors using poles to surmount enemy walls. Vestige forms of the modern-day sport are also represented on Grecian pottery, where painted figures can be seen using poles to vault onto the back of a horse.

      The 12th century Irish Book of Leinster even references organized games in which poles were used to vault for distance. The sport's origin as a competition of distance rather than height, may stem from the common use of poles in France and Ireland as a practical method of navigating the area's topography; the prevalence of streams and brooks made vaulting a quick, dry travel option.

    Legend and Myth

    • The sport's roots are grounded in these historic registrars, but appropriately, pole vaulting has also leaped into myth and legend. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, the Roman goddess Minerva, after concluding a meeting with Envy, uses a spear to spring from the earth toward the heavens.

      The same technique is said to have been used by the Spaniard Alvarado in his famous 1520 escape from the Aztecan city of Tenochtitlan; planting his spear, he bounded over a small schism in the earth and outdistanced the Aztecan horde behind him.

      British King Henry VIII found himself less fortunate when, tracking a hawk, he attempted the same feat and plopped deep in the muddy waters of a river.

    Modern Origins

    • Credit for the origins of the modern-day version of the sport is often given to Johann GutsMuths. In 1792, the German authored "Gymnastik furde Jungend." The book propounded the physical benefits of the activity and lay rules and guidelines for its practice. Jan Johnson and Russ VerSteeg's "The Illustrated History of the Pole Vault" details the founder's contributions: He "describes the design of jumping standards, the general principles of pole vaulting [and] the length of the approach run, and [he] even offers advice on the recommended hand grip!"

    Assimilation into Modern Games

    • Though born in Germany, knowledge and practice of the sport began quickly began to spread throughout Europe. It had a narrow following in England during the early 1800s. By 1855, it was part of the English Games and in the 1860s, it was an event in official intercollegiate matches. When the first modern day Olympic games was held in Athens, Greece in 1896, pole vaulting was included under the category of athletics. Recognition as a coed event took much longer; women's pole vaulting did not gain a threshold until the early 1990s.

    Pole Types

    • During the course of the more than two centuries that lie between GutsMuths' founding and present day, the type of pole used in competition has changed dramatically. GutsMuths' students vaulted with poles made of wood, often hickory or ash. By the 1920s, bamboo poles were the norm. Steel and aluminum held as the norm for a brief period during the '40s and '50s before giving way to the fiberglass and carbon offshoots preferred today.

    Record Progression

    • Improvements in pole technology have aided the ever-increasing growth of world record vaults. The statistician Gerard Dumas documents that in 1789, the best noted vault was a height of 6 feet. By the time of the first Olympics, it had increased to around 11 feet, 5 inches, and after World War II it stood near to 15 feet, 8 inches. As of 2010, the current world record is held by Sergey Bubka of Ukraine, whose mark of 20 feet, 1-3/4 inches has stood since 1994.

    Significance

    • The changes that have swept across the pole vaulting landscape are widespread; an acquired skill for traveling across difficult terrain or for laying siege to an enemy battlement, practiced first with spears and bamboo, became GutsMuths' hickory pole test of strength. The sport's ancient and modern origins offer a glimpse into its evolution and context for why an ability to transcend height and distance is a valued athletic attribute.