Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics - Men's pole vault

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The men's pole vault was one of four jumping events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. Five athletes competed in the pole vault. The two Americans far outclassed the three Greeks, starting at heights above those which the Greeks could clear and taking first and second places. Damaskos and Theodoropoulos tied for third, while Xydas took fifth.

[edit] Medallists

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Welles Hoyt United States	Albert Tyler United States	Evangelos Damaskos Greece Ioannis Theodoropoulos Greece

[edit] Results

Place	Athlete	Nation	Height
1	Welles Hoyt	United States	3.30 metres
2	Albert Tyler	United States	3.20 metres
3	Evangelos Damaskos	Greece	2.60 metres
3	Ioannis Theodoropoulos	Greece	2.60 metres
5	Vasilios Xydas	Greece	2.40 metres

The three Greeks began with the bar at 2.40 metres. All three made that mark. The bar was then raised .10 metres at a time, eliminating Xydas after he failed the second jump and the other two after they failed the fourth height. The American pair did not jump at any of those heights, instead beginning at 2.80 metres, a height at which neither had any difficulty. Tyler was unable to clear the 3.30 metres height, and Hoyt failed at 3.40 metres.

[edit] References

Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J.; & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at AAFLA.org)
Mallon, Bill; & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at AAFLA.org)
Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.