Pole Vault World Records
The pole vault is one of the athletics (track and field) jumping events, requiring a competitor to leap over a bar using a long pole.
The current pole vault world record (as of August 2024) for men is held by US-born Swedish vaulter Armand Duplantis set in August 2024 with a vault of 6.26 m (20 ft 6.5 in). For women, the record is held by Russian Yelena Isinbayeva, set in 2009, with a leap of 5.06 m (16 ft 7 in). The world record in pole vault can be set either indoor or outdoors.
an athlete clears the bar in the pole vaultMen's Pole Vault World Record Progression
| Height | Athlete | Nation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.26 m (20 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden/USA | August 25, 2024 |
| 6.25 m (20 ft 6 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden/USA | August 5, 2024 |
| 6.24 m (20 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden/USA | April 20, 2024 |
| 6.23 m (20 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden/USA | September 17, 2023 |
| 6.22 m (20 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden/USA | February 25, 2023 |
| 6.21 m (20 ft 4+1⁄4 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden/USA | July 24, 2022 |
| 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden/USA | March 20, 2022 |
| 6.19 m (20 ft 3+1⁄2 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden/USA | March 7, 2022 |
| 6.18 m (20 ft 3+1⁄4 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden/USA | February 15, 2020 |
| 6.17 m (20 ft 2+3⁄4 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden/USA | February 8, 2020 |
| 6.16 m (20 ft 2+1⁄2 in) | Renaud Lavillenie | France | February 15, 2014 |
| 6.14 m (20 ft 1+1⁄2 in) | Sergey Bubka | Ukraine | July 31, 1994 |
| 6.13 m (20 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Ukraine | September 19, 1992 |
| 6.12 m (20 ft 3⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Ukraine | August 30, 1992 |
| 6.11 m (20 ft 1⁄2 in) | Sergey Bubka | Ukraine | June 13, 1992 |
| 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | August 5, 1991 |
| 6.09 m (19 ft 11+3⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | July 8, 1991 |
| 6.08 m (19 ft 11+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | June 9, 1991 |
| 6.07 m (19 ft 10+3⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | May 6, 1991 |
| 6.06 m (19 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | July 10, 1988 |
| 6.05 m (19 ft 10 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | June 9, 1988 |
| 6.03 m (19 ft 9+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | June 23, 1987 |
| 6.01 m (19 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | July 8, 1986 |
| 6.00 m (19 ft 8 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | July 13, 1985 |
| 5.94 m (19 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | August 31, 1984 |
| 5.91 m (19 ft 4+1⁄2 in) | Thierry Vigneron | France | August 31, 1984 |
| 5.90 m (19 ft 4+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | July 13, 1984 |
| 5.88 m (19 ft 3+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | June 2, 1984 |
| 5.85 m (19 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | May 26, 1984 |
| 5.83 m (19 ft 1+1⁄2 in) | Thierry Vigneron | France | September 1, 1983 |
| 5.82 m (19 ft 1 in) | Pierre Quinon | France | August 28, 1983 |
| 5.81 m (19 ft 1⁄2 in) | Vladimir Polyakov | Soviet Union | June 26, 1981 |
| 5.80 m (19 ft 1⁄4 in) | Thierry Vigneron | France | June 20, 1981 |
| 5.78 m (18 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | Władysław Kozakiewicz | Poland | July 30, 1980 |
| 5.77 m (18 ft 11 in) | Philippe Houvion | France | July 17, 1980 |
| 5.75 m (18 ft 10+1⁄4 in) | Thierry Vigneron | France | June 29, 1980 |
| 5.75 m (18 ft 10+1⁄4 in) | Thierry Vigneron | France | June 1, 1980 |
| 5.72 m (18 ft 9 in) | Władysław Kozakiewicz | Poland | May 11, 1980 |
| 5.70 m (18 ft 8+1⁄4 in) | David Roberts | USA | June 22, 1976 |
| 5.67 m (18 ft 7 in) | Earl Bell | USA | May 29, 1976 |
| 5.65 m (18 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | David Roberts | USA | March 28, 1975 |
| 5.63 m (18 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | Bob Seagren | USA | July 2, 1972 |
| 5.55 m (18 ft 2+1⁄2 in) | Kjell Isaksson | Sweden | June 12, 1972 |
| 5.54 m (18 ft 2 in) | Kjell Isaksson | Sweden | April 15, 1972 |
| 5.51 m (18 ft 3⁄4 in) | Kjell Isaksson | Sweden | April 8, 1972 |
| 5.49 m (18 ft 0 in) | Christos Papanikolaou | Greece | October 24, 1970 |
| 5.46 m (17 ft 10+3⁄4 in) | Wolfgang Nordwig | East Germany | September 3, 1970 |
| 5.45 m (17 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Wolfgang Nordwig | East Germany | June 17, 1970 |
| 5.44 m (17 ft 10 in) | John Pennel | USA | June 21, 1969 |
| 5.41 m (17 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | Bob Seagren | USA | September 12, 1968 |
| 5.38 m (17 ft 7+3⁄4 in) | Paul Wilson | USA | June 23, 1967 |
| 5.36 m (17 ft 7 in) | Bob Seagren | USA | June 10, 1967 |
| 5.34 m (17 ft 6 in) | John Pennel | USA | July 23, 1966 |
| 5.32 m (17 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | Bob Seagren | USA | May 14, 1966 |
| 5.28 m (17 ft 3+3⁄4 in) | Fred Hansen | USA | July 25, 1964 |
| 5.23 m (17 ft 1+3⁄4 in) | Fred Hansen | USA | June 13, 1964 |
| 5.20 m (17 ft 1⁄2 in) | John Pennel | USA | August 24, 1963 |
| 5.13 m (16 ft 9+3⁄4 in) | John Pennel | USA | August 5, 1963 |
| 5.08 m (16 ft 8 in) | Brian Sternberg | USA | June 7, 1963 |
| 5.00 m (16 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Brian Sternberg | USA | April 27, 1963 |
| 4.94 m (16 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Pentti Nikula | Finland | June 22, 1962 |
| 4.93 m (16 ft 2 in) | Dave Tork | USA | April 28, 1962 |
| 4.89 m (16 ft 1⁄2 in) | John Uelses | USA | March 31, 1962 |
| 4.83 m (15 ft 10 in) | George Davies | USA | May 20, 1961 |
| 4.80 m (15 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | Don Bragg | USA | July 2, 1960 |
| 4.78 m (15 ft 8 in) | Robert Gutowski | USA | April 27, 1957 |
| 4.77 m (15 ft 7+3⁄4 in) | Cornelius Warmerdam | USA | May 23, 1942 |
| 4.72 m (15 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | Cornelius Warmerdam | USA | June 26, 1941 |
| 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in) | Cornelius Warmerdam | USA | June 29, 1940 |
| 4.54 m (14 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Earle Meadows | USA | May 29, 1937 |
| 4.54 m (14 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Bill Sefton | USA | May 29, 1937 |
| 4.43 m (14 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | George Varoff | USA | July 4, 1936 |
| 4.39 m (14 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Keith Brown | USA | June 1, 1935 |
| 4.37 m (14 ft 4 in) | William Graber | USA | July 16, 1932 |
| 4.30 m (14 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | Lee Barnes | USA | April 28, 1928 |
| 4.27 m (14 ft 0 in) | Sabin Carr | USA | May 28, 1927 |
| 4.25 m (13 ft 11+1⁄4 in) | Charles Hoff | Norway | September 27, 1925 |
| 4.23 m (13 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Charles Hoff | Norway | August 13, 1925 |
| 4.21 m (13 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | Charles Hoff | Norway | July 22, 1923 |
| 4.12 m (13 ft 6 in) | Charles Hoff | Norway | September 22, 1922 |
| 4.09 m (13 ft 5 in) | Frank Foss | USA | August 20, 1920 |
| 4.02 m (13 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Marc Wright | USA | June 8, 1912 |
Women's Pole Vault World Record Progression
The IAAF only introduced the pole vault to the World Record list in 1994. The inaugural record was 4.05m by Caiyun Sun of China. Prior to that, the world bests were collated, some of these were set using imperial units, though we have converted and listed them in metric units for ease of comparison.
| Height | Athlete | Nation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.06 m (16 ft 7 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 28-Aug-09 |
| 5.05 m (16 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 18-Aug-08 |
| 5.04 m (16 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 29-Jul-08 |
| 5.03 m (16 ft 6 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 11-Jul-08 |
| 5.01 m (16 ft 5 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 9-Aug-05 |
| 5.00 m (16 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 22-Jul-05 |
| 4.96 m (16 ft 3+1⁄4 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 22-Jul-05 |
| 4.95 m (16 ft 2+3⁄4 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 16-Jul-05 |
| 4.93 m (16 ft 2 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 5-Jul-05 |
| 4.92 m (16 ft 1+1⁄2 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 3-Sep-04 |
| 4.91 m (16 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 24-Aug-04 |
| 4.90 m (16 ft 3⁄4 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 30-Jul-04 |
| 4.89 m (16 ft 1⁄2 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 25-Jul-04 |
| 4.88 m (16 ft 0 in) | Svetlana Feofanova | Russia | 4-Jul-04 |
| 4.87 m (15 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 27-Jun-04 |
| 4.86 m (15 ft 11+1⁄4 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 6-Mar-04 |
| 4.85 m (15 ft 10+3⁄4 in) | Svetlana Feofanova | Russia | 22-Feb-04 |
| 4.83 m (15 ft 10 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 15-Feb-04 |
| 4.82 m (15 ft 9+3⁄4 in) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 13-Jul-03 |
| 4.81 m (15 ft 9+1⁄4 in) | Stacy Dragila | USA | 9-Jun-01 |
| 4.71 m (15 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | Stacy Dragila | USA | 9-Jun-01 |
| 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) | Stacy Dragila | USA | 27-Apr-01 |
| 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) | Stacy Dragila | USA | 17-Feb-01 |
| 4.66 m (15 ft 3+1⁄4 in) | Stacy Dragila | USA | 17-Feb-01 |
| 4.64 m (15 ft 2+1⁄2 in) | Svetlana Feofanova | Russia | 11-Feb-01 |
| 4.63 m (15 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Stacy Dragila | USA | 2-Feb-01 |
| 4.63 m (15 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Stacy Dragila | USA | 23-Jul-00 |
| 4.62 m (15 ft 1+3⁄4 in) | Stacy Dragila | USA | 3-Mar-00 |
| 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in) | Stacy Dragila | USA | 19-Feb-00 |
| 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in) | Stacy Dragila | USA | 21-Aug-99 |
| 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in) | Emma George | Australia | 20-Feb-99 |
| 4.59 m (15 ft 1⁄2 in) | Emma George | Australia | 21-Mar-98 |
| 4.58 m (15 ft 1⁄4 in) | Emma George | Australia | 14-Mar-98 |
| 4.57 m (14 ft 11+3⁄4 in) | Emma George | Australia | 21-Feb-98 |
| 4.55 m (14 ft 11 in) | Emma George | Australia | 20-Feb-97 |
| 4.50 m (14 ft 9 in) | Emma George | Australia | 8-Feb-97 |
| 4.45 m (14 ft 7 in) | Emma George | Australia | 14-Jul-96 |
| 4.42 m (14 ft 6 in) | Emma George | Australia | 29-Jun-96 |
| 4.41 m (14 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | Emma George | Australia | 28-Jan-96 |
| 4.28 m (14 ft 1⁄2 in) | Emma George | Australia | 17-Dec-95 |
| 4.25 m (13 ft 11+1⁄4 in) | Emma George | Australia | 30-Nov-95 |
| 4.22 m (13 ft 10 in) | Daniela Bártová | Czech Republic | 11-Sep-95 |
| 4.21 m (13 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | Daniela Bártová | Czech Republic | 22-Aug-95 |
| 4.20 m (13 ft 9+1⁄4 in) | Daniela Bártová | Czech Republic | 18-Aug-95 |
| 4.18 m (13 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Andrea Müller | Germany | 5-Aug-95 |
| 4.17 m (13 ft 8 in) | Daniela Bártová | Czech Republic | 15-Jul-95 |
| 4.16 m (13 ft 7+3⁄4 in) | Daniela Bártová | Czech Republic | 14-Jul-95 |
| 4.15 m (13 ft 7+1⁄4 in) | Daniela Bártová | Czech Republic | 6-Jul-95 |
| 4.14 m (13 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | Daniela Bártová | Czech Republic | 2-Jul-95 |
| 4.13 m (13 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | Daniela Bártová | Czech Republic | 24-Jun-95 |
| 4.12 m (13 ft 6 in) | Daniela Bártová | Czech Republic | 18-Jun-95 |
| 4.10 m (13 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | Daniela Bártová | Czech Republic | 21-May-95 |
| 4.08 m (13 ft 4+1⁄2 in) | Zhong Guiqing | China | 18-May-95 |
| 4.08 m (13 ft 4+1⁄2 in) | Sun Caiyun | China | 18-May-95 |
| 4.05 m (13 ft 3+1⁄4 in) | Sun Caiyun | China | 21-May-92 |
| 4.05 m (13 ft 3+1⁄4 in) | Zhang Chunzhen | China | 10-Aug-91 |
| 4.02 m (13 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Zhang Chunzhen | China | 5-Jun-91 |
| 4.00 m (13 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | Zhang Chunzhen | China | 24-Mar-91 |
| =3.83 m (12 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | Zhang Chunzhen | China | 24-Mar-91 |
| 3.83 m (12 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | Sun Caiyun | China | 24-Mar-91 |
| 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in) | Zhang Chunzhen | China | 24-Mar-90 |
| 3.80 m (12 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | Zhang Chunzhen | China | 9-Sep-89 |
| 3.76 m (12 ft 4 in) | Zhou Minxin | China | 22-Apr-89 |
| 3.75 m (12 ft 3+1⁄2 in) | Zhang Chunzhen | China | 10-Jun-88 |
| 3.73 m (12 ft 2+3⁄4 in) | Shao Jingmen | China | 4-May-88 |
| 3.72 m (12 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Zhang Chunzhen | China | 20-Apr-88 |
| 3.59 m (11 ft 91⁄2 in) | Jana Edwards | USA | 23-Jul-83 |
| 3.50 m (11 ft 6 in) | Jana Edwards | USA | 23-Jul-83 |
| 3.37 m (11 ft 1 in) | Jana Edwards | USA | 18-Jun-83 |
| 3.22 m (10 ft 7 in) | Jana Edwards | USA | 18-Jun-83 |
| 3.20 m (10 ft 6 in) | Jana Edwards | USA | 11-Jun-83 |
| 3.05 m (10 ft 01⁄4 in) | Jana Edwards | USA | June 1983 |
| 3.05 m (10 ft 01⁄4 in) | Irene Spieker | USA | 9-Feb-79 |
| 2.92 m (9 ft 7 in) | Irene Spieker | USA | 9-Feb-79 |
| 2.74 m (9 ft 0 in) | Irene Spieker | USA | 9-Feb-79 |
| 2.61 m (8 ft 7 in) | Irene Spieker | USA | 9-Feb-79 |
| 2.60 m (8 ft 61⁄2 in) | Irene Spieker | USA | 10-Feb-78 |
| =2.59 m (8 ft 6 in) | Brenda Walker | New Zealand | 8-Jan-69 |
| 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in) | Diane Bragg | USA | 6-Jul-52 |
| 2.53 m (8 ft 3+1⁄2 in) | Zoya Romanova | Soviet Union | 26-Aug-35 |
| =2.35 m (7 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Yelena Goldobina | Soviet Union | 7-Sep-24 |
| 2.35 m (7 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Helene Henneke | Germany | 17-Jul-21 |
| 2.30 m (7 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | Helene Henneke | Germany | 17-Jul-21 |
| 2.25 m (7 ft 4+1⁄2 in) | Elva Hintze | Germany | 17-Jul-21 |
| 2.20 m (7 ft 3 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 3-Jun-19 |
| 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| =1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | Mildred Carl | USA | 6-Jun-15 |
| 1.90m (6 ft 3 in) | Eva Fisk | USA | 13-May-15 |
| 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | Eva Fisk | USA | 13-May-15 |
| =1.84 m (6 ft 01⁄2 in) | Eva Fisk | USA | 13-May-15 |
| 1.84 m (6 ft 01⁄2 in) | Lois Tatum | USA | 13-Apr-15 |
| =1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | Emma Lee King | USA | 13-Apr-15 |
| 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | Lois Tatum | USA | 13-Apr-15 |
| 1.77 m (5 ft 93⁄4 in) | Hazel Hutaff | USA | 3-Apr-15 |
| 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | Hazel Hutaff | USA | 3-Apr-15 |
| 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | Hazel Hutaff | USA | 3-Apr-15 |
| 1.72 m (5 ft 73⁄4 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 15-May-11 |
| 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 15-May-11 |
| 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 15-May-11 |
| 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 15-May-11 |
| 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 15-May-11 |
| 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 15-May-11 |
| 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 15-May-11 |
| 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 15-May-11 |
| 1.49 m (4 ft 11 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 15-May-11 |
| 1.47 m (4 ft 10 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 15-May-11 |
| 1.44 m (4 ft 9 in) | Ruth Spencer | USA | 14-May-10 |
Related Pages
- High jump world records, plus more Athletics Records
- Profile of Sergey Bubka
- About the Pole Vault event
- Pole Vault at the Olympics
- Poll: Which world athletics record will be broken next? the Pole Vault or High Jump?
- Other sports and fitness records
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