Men's pole vault world record progression
The first world record in the men's pole vault was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1912.[ 1]
As of April 20, 2024, 80 world records have been ratified by the IAAF (now World Athletics) in the event. Since 2000, World Athletics makes no distinction between indoor and outdoor settings when establishing pole vault world records. This new rule was not applied retroactively. The introduction in the early 1950s of flexible vaulting poles made from composites such as fiberglass or carbon fiber allowed vaulters to achieve greater height.[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] The present record of 6.26 m (20 ft 6+ 1 ⁄4 in) was set by Armand Duplantis , competing for Sweden at the Silesia Diamond League .[ 4]
Record progression
Ratified
Not ratified
Ratified but later rescinded
Pending ratification
Mark
Athlete
Nation
Venue
Date
#[ a]
3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
Francis Temple
Great Britain
Woolwich
October 6, 1849[ 5]
1
3.21 m ( 10 ft 6+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Robert Mitchell
London
June 19, 1868[ 5]
1
3.225 m ( 10 ft 6+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Edwin Woodburn
Newton
August 31, 1872[ 5]
1
Lancaster
June 2, 1873[ 5]
2
William Kelsey
Sheffield
July 7, 1873[ 5]
1
John Wigfull
1
Edwin Woodburn
London
March 30, 1874[ 5]
3
John Wigfull
Sheffield
July 5, 1875[ 5]
2
3.38 m (11 ft 1 in)
A. Hammond
Bury St.Edmunds
March 30, 1876[ 5]
1
Edwin Woodburn
Ulverston
July 21, 1876[ 5]
4
3.42 m ( 11 ft 2+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Thomas Ray
September 19, 1879[ 5]
1
3.43 m (11 ft 3 in)
Birmingham
July 16, 1881[ 5]
2
3.455 m (11 ft 4 in)
Bradford
August 12, 1882[ 5]
3
Nottingham
June 16, 1883[ 5]
4
3.465 m ( 11 ft 4+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Preston
August 18, 1883[ 5]
5
3.48 m (11 ft 5 in)
Grasmere
August 20, 1885[ 5]
6
3.485 m (11 ft 5 in)
Whitehaven
August 13, 1886[ 5]
7
3.505 m ( 11 ft 5+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Grasmere
August 18, 1887[ 5]
8
3.52 m ( 11 ft 6+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Whitehaven
August 19, 1887[ 5]
9
3.53 m ( 11 ft 6+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Ernest Stones
Southport
June 2, 1888[ 5]
1
3.555 m ( 11 ft 7+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Thomas Ray
Barrow
September 22, 1888[ 5]
10
3.57 m ( 11 ft 8+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Ernest Stones
Grasmere
August 23, 1889[ 5]
2
3.58 m ( 11 ft 8+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Richard Dickenson
Kidderminster
July 4, 1891[ 5]
1
3.62 m ( 11 ft 10+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Raymond Clapp
United States
Chicago
June 16, 1898[ 5]
1
3.69 m ( 12 ft 1+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Norman Dole
Berkeley
April 23, 1904[ 5]
1
3.69 m ( 12 ft 1+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Fernand Gonder
France
Paris
June 26, 1904[ 5]
1
3.74 m (12 ft 3 in)
Gradignan
June 4, 1905[ 5]
2
3.78 m ( 12 ft 4+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Leroy Samse
United States
Chicago
June 2, 1906[ 5]
1
3.79 m (12 ft 5 in)
Walter Dray
New Haven
May 18, 1907[ 5]
1
3.82 m ( 12 ft 6+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Philadelphia
April 25, 1908[ 5]
2
3.855 m ( 12 ft 7+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Alfred Gilbert
June 6, 1908[ 5]
1
3.86 m ( 12 ft 7+ 3 ⁄4 in)
New Haven
June 12, 1908[ 5]
2
3.90 m ( 12 ft 9+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Walter Dray
Danbury
June 13, 1908[ 5]
3
3.91 m ( 12 ft 9+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Leland Scott
Berkeley
April 30, 1910[ 5]
1
3.93 m ( 12 ft 10+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Boulder
May 27, 1910[ 5]
2
3.985 m ( 13 ft 3 ⁄4 in)
Robert Gardner
Philadelphia
June 1, 1912[ 5]
1
4.02 m ( 13 ft 2+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Marc Wright
Cambridge , U.S.
June 8, 1912[ 1]
1
4.09 m (13 ft 5 in)
Frank Foss
Antwerp , Belgium
August 20, 1920[ 1]
1
4.12 m (13 ft 6 in)
Charles Hoff
Norway
Copenhagen , Denmark
September 22, 1922[ 1]
1
4.21 m ( 13 ft 9+ 1 ⁄2 in)
July 22, 1923[ 1]
2
4.23 m ( 13 ft 10+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Oslo , Norway
August 13, 1925[ 1]
3
4.25 m ( 13 ft 11+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Turku , Finland
September 27, 1925[ 1]
4
4.27 m (14 ft 0 in)
Sabin Carr
United States
Philadelphia , U.S.
May 28, 1927[ 1]
1
4.30 m ( 14 ft 1+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Lee Barnes
Fresno , U.S.
April 28, 1928[ 1]
1
4.37 m (14 ft 4 in)
William Graber
Palo Alto , U.S.
July 16, 1932[ 1]
1
4.39 m ( 14 ft 4+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Keith Brown
Boston , U.S.
June 1, 1935[ 1]
1
4.43 m ( 14 ft 6+ 1 ⁄4 in)
George Varoff
Princeton, New Jersey , U.S.
July 4, 1936[ 1]
1
4.54 m ( 14 ft 10+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Bill Sefton
Los Angeles , U.S.
May 29, 1937[ 1]
1
Earle Meadows
1
4.60 m (15 ft 1 in)
Cornelius Warmerdam
Fresno , U.S.
June 29, 1940[ 1]
1
4.72 m ( 15 ft 5+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Compton , U.S.
June 26, 1941[ 1]
2
4.77 m ( 15 ft 7+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Modesto , U.S.
May 23, 1942[ 1]
3
4.78 m (15 ft 8 in)
Robert Gutowski
Palo Alto , U.S.
April 27, 1957[ 1]
1
4.80 m ( 15 ft 8+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Don Bragg
July 2, 1960[ 1]
1
4.83 m (15 ft 10 in)
George Davies
Boulder , U.S.
May 20, 1961[ 1]
1
4.89 m ( 16 ft 1 ⁄2 in)
John Uelses
Santa Barbara , U.S.
March 31, 1962[ 1]
1
4.93 m (16 ft 2 in)
Dave Tork
Walnut , U.S.
April 28, 1962[ 1]
1
4.94 m ( 16 ft 2+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Pentti Nikula
Finland
Kauhava , Finland
June 22, 1962[ 1]
1
5.00 m ( 16 ft 4+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Brian Sternberg
United States
Philadelphia , U.S.
April 27, 1963[ 1]
1
5.08 m (16 ft 8 in)
Compton , U.S.
June 7, 1963[ 1]
2
5.13 m ( 16 ft 9+ 3 ⁄4 in)
John Pennel
London , England
August 5, 1963[ 1]
1
5.20 m ( 17 ft 1 ⁄2 in)
Coral Gables , U.S.
August 24, 1963[ 1]
2
5.23 m ( 17 ft 1+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Fred Hansen
San Diego , U.S.
June 13, 1964[ 1]
1
5.28 m ( 17 ft 3+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Los Angeles , U.S.
July 25, 1964[ 1]
2
5.32 m ( 17 ft 5+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Bob Seagren
Fresno , U.S.
May 14, 1966[ 1]
1
5.34 m (17 ft 6 in)
John Pennel
Los Angeles , U.S.
July 23, 1966[ 1]
3
5.36 m (17 ft 7 in)
Bob Seagren
San Diego , U.S.
June 10, 1967[ 1]
2
5.38 m ( 17 ft 7+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Paul Wilson
Bakersfield , U.S.
June 23, 1967[ 1]
1
5.41 m ( 17 ft 8+ 3 ⁄4 in) A
Bob Seagren
Echo Summit , U.S.
September 12, 1968[ 1]
3
5.44 m (17 ft 10 in)
John Pennel
Sacramento , U.S.
June 21, 1969[ 1]
4
5.45 m ( 17 ft 10+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Wolfgang Nordwig
East Germany
Berlin , Germany
June 17, 1970[ 1]
1
5.46 m ( 17 ft 10+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Turin , Italy
September 3, 1970[ 1]
2
5.49 m (18 ft 0 in)
Christos Papanikolaou
Greece
Athens , Greece
October 24, 1970[ 1]
1
5.51 m ( 18 ft 3 ⁄4 in)
Kjell Isaksson
Sweden
Austin , U.S.
April 8, 1972[ 1]
1
5.54 m (18 ft 2 in)
Los Angeles , U.S.
April 15, 1972[ 1]
2
5.55 m ( 18 ft 2+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Helsingborg , Sweden
June 12, 1972[ 1]
3
5.63 m ( 18 ft 5+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Bob Seagren
United States
Eugene , U.S.
July 2, 1972[ 1]
4
5.65 m ( 18 ft 6+ 1 ⁄4 in)
David Roberts
Gainesville , U.S.
March 28, 1975[ 1]
1
5.67 m (18 ft 7 in)
Earl Bell
Wichita , U.S.
May 29, 1976[ 1]
1
5.70 m ( 18 ft 8+ 1 ⁄4 in)
David Roberts
Eugene , U.S.
June 22, 1976[ 1]
2
5.72 m (18 ft 9 in)
Władysław Kozakiewicz
Poland
Milan , Italy
May 11, 1980[ 1]
1
5.75 m ( 18 ft 10+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Thierry Vigneron
France
Paris , France
June 1, 1980[ 1]
1
5.75 m ( 18 ft 10+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Lille , France
June 29, 1980[ 1]
2
5.77 m (18 ft 11 in)
Philippe Houvion
Paris , France
July 17, 1980[ 1]
1
5.78 m ( 18 ft 11+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Władysław Kozakiewicz
Poland
Moscow , Soviet Union
July 30, 1980[ 1]
2
5.80 m ( 19 ft 1 ⁄4 in)
Thierry Vigneron
France
Mâcon , France
June 20, 1981[ 1]
3
5.81 m ( 19 ft 1 ⁄2 in)
Vladimir Polyakov
Soviet Union
Tbilisi , Soviet Union
June 26, 1981[ 1]
1
5.82 m (19 ft 1 in)
Pierre Quinon
France
Cologne , Germany
August 28, 1983[ 1]
1
5.83 m ( 19 ft 1+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Thierry Vigneron
Rome , Italy
September 1, 1983[ 1]
4
5.85 m ( 19 ft 2+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Sergey Bubka
Soviet Union
Bratislava , Czechoslovakia
May 26, 1984[ 1]
1
5.88 m ( 19 ft 3+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Paris , France
June 2, 1984[ 1]
2
5.90 m ( 19 ft 4+ 1 ⁄4 in)
London , England
July 13, 1984[ 1]
3
5.91 m ( 19 ft 4+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Thierry Vigneron
France
Rome , Italy
August 31, 1984[ 1]
5
5.94 m ( 19 ft 5+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Sergey Bubka
Soviet Union
4
6.00 m (19 ft 8 in)
Paris , France
July 13, 1985[ 1]
5
6.01 m ( 19 ft 8+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Moscow , Soviet Union
July 8, 1986[ 1]
6
6.03 m ( 19 ft 9+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Prague , Czechoslovakia
June 23, 1987[ 1]
7
6.05 m (19 ft 10 in)
Bratislava , Czechoslovakia
June 9, 1988[ 1]
8
6.06 m ( 19 ft 10+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Nice , France
July 10, 1988[ 1]
9
6.07 m ( 19 ft 10+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Shizuoka , Japan
May 6, 1991[ 1]
10
6.08 m ( 19 ft 11+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Moscow , Soviet Union
June 9, 1991[ 1]
11
6.09 m ( 19 ft 11+ 3 ⁄4 in)
Formia , Italy
July 8, 1991[ 1]
12
6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)
Malmö , Sweden
August 5, 1991[ 1]
13
6.11 m ( 20 ft 1 ⁄2 in)
Ukraine
Dijon , France
June 13, 1992[ 1]
14
6.12 m ( 20 ft 3 ⁄4 in)
Padua , Italy
August 30, 1992[ 1]
15
6.13 m ( 20 ft 1+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Tokyo , Japan
September 19, 1992[ 1]
16
6.14 m ( 20 ft 1+ 1 ⁄2 in) A [ b]
Sestriere , Italy
July 31, 1994[ 1]
17
6.16 m ( 20 ft 2+ 1 ⁄2 in) i [ 7]
Renaud Lavillenie
France
Donetsk , Ukraine
February 15, 2014
1
6.17 m ( 20 ft 2+ 3 ⁄4 in) i
Armand Duplantis
Sweden
Toruń , Poland
February 8, 2020
1
6.18 m ( 20 ft 3+ 1 ⁄4 in) i
Glasgow , UK
February 15, 2020
2
6.19 m ( 20 ft 3+ 1 ⁄2 in) i
Belgrade , Serbia
March 7, 2022
3
6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) i
March 20, 2022
4
6.21 m ( 20 ft 4+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Eugene , U.S.
July 24, 2022
5
6.22 m ( 20 ft 4+ 3 ⁄4 in) i
Clermont-Ferrand , France
February 25, 2023
6
6.23 m ( 20 ft 5+ 1 ⁄4 in)
Eugene , U.S.
September 17, 2023
7
6.24 m ( 20 ft 5+ 1 ⁄2 in)
Xiamen , China
April 20, 2024
8
6.25 m (20 ft 6 in)
Paris , France
August 5, 2024
9
6.26 m (20 ft 6¼ in)
Chorzów , Poland
August 25, 2024
10
Notes:
^ The numbered occurrence of the athlete breaking the world record, in other words "#7" would indicate the 7th time the athlete broke the world record.
^ "From 2000, IAAF Rule 260.18s (formerly 260.6.a) was amended to say world records (as opposed to indoor world records) can be set in a facility 'with or without a roof.' So far, only one event - the women's pole vault - has been affected by this change, which was not applied retrospectively."[ 6] Sergey Bubka set an indoor record of 6.15 m (20 ft 2 in) on February 21, 1993, in excess of the outdoor record, before this rule came into effect. Lavillenie's indoor world record was set after the rule came into effect, and thus since it exceeded Bubka's 6.14 m ( 20 ft 1+ 1 ⁄2 in) set outdoors, it also became the world record, the first indoor mark to do so in this event.
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