Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics - Men's pole vault

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The men's pole vault was a track & field athletics event at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on 15 July 1900. Eight athletes from five nations competed in the pole vault.

This event was heavily protested by the United States team, as it was held on a Sunday and three of the top American vaulters had been told that they could vault on the following day and have the results count. The French organizers, however, ruled on 14 July that the results of Sunday competitions would be final. The American vaulters did not learn of that decision until after the event. The two that did compete were not regularly vaulters—Baxter had just finished winning the high jump when the pole vault began and decided to join the competition.

[edit] Medallists

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Irving Baxter United States	Meredith Colker United States	Carl Andersen Norway

[edit] Results

Place	Athlete	Nation	Height
1	Irving Baxter	United States	3.30 metres
2	Meredith Colker	United States	3.25 metres
3	Carl Andersen	Norway	3.20 metres
4	Émile Gontier	France	3.10 metres
	Jakab Kauser	Hungary	3.10 metres
	Erik Lemming	Sweden	3.10 metres
7	Karl Staaf	Sweden	2.80 metres
8	August Nilsson	Sweden	2.60 metres

Baxter, despite being a high jumper who had little experience in pole vaulting and having just finished the high jump competition, was the top vaulter. Along with the other medallists, he cleared 3.10 metres first, then 3.20 metres. Andersen could not clear 3.25 while both the Americans did. That was the highest vault that Colker could accomplish, however, and Baxter's 3.30 was enough to win.

[edit] Sources

International Olympic Committee.
De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Athletics 1900". Accessed 18 March 2006. Available electronically at [1].
Mallon, Bill (1998). The 1900 Olympic Games, Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0378-0.