Home > List > Track and Field > Pole Vault

Pole vault is a full medal track and field event at Olympic Games, requiring a competitor to leap over a bar using a long flexible pole made of either carbon fiber or fiberglass. This event is one of the four major jumping events in athletics, the other three are high jump, long jump and triple jump. The pole vault has a lot of similarities to the high jump event.

Pole Vault requires a high running speed as an essential requirement for an athlete to be able to successfully jump over the bar using the pole. The technique requires a lot of practice and time to be mastered. Inexperienced athletes trying the pole vault can lead to broken poles and injury.

It is crucial to use a pole that is suited to your body weight. Usually there is a red band to indicate the recommended range of where to grip the pole. There is a specific area in which the pole bends perfectly and the vaulter must take special consideration of that for efficient bending.

The winner is the athlete to successfully clear the highest bar height. The athlete can choose which height they would like to start. They then have three attempts to clear the height. If the height is cleared, they can them attempt the next height, where they will have three more attempts. Once the vaulter has three consecutive misses, they are out of the competition and the highest height they cleared is their final result.

---

---

Other Jump Events

• Long Jump — a track and field event where the participant attempts to jump the longest into a sand pit.
• Triple jump — a track and field event where the participant attempts to hop, skip and jump the longest distance.
• High Jump — a Track and Field event in which the participants attempt to jump over the highest bar.

Similar Sports

• Fierljeppen — contestants vault across a canal using a long pole. Also called Canal Jumping.
• Pole Climbing — involves climbing very high wooden poles.
• Decathlon — track and field event comprising 10 events held over two days, which includes the pole vault as one of the events.

Related Pages

• World Records for the Pole Vault
• More track and field events
• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports — a list of every sport from around the world.