Christos Papanikolaou

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Christos Papanikolaou (Greek: Χρήστος Παπανικολάου, born November 25, 1941) is a retired Greek pole vaulter.

He was born in Trikala.At a young age he joined the Sports Club of Trikala. After completing his high school education he enrolled in the Sports Academy of Athens. While in Athens, he joined Panathinaikos.

His greatest ever championship achievements only came when he won the silver medal at the 1966 European Championships and finished fourth at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

At the 1970 Universiade in Turin, Papanikolaou finished second behind Wolfgang Nordwig, who won the event with a new world record of 5.46 metres. On 24 October the same year Papanikolaou jumped 5.49 metres in Athens to capture the world record. Measuring 18′ 1 1/2″, it was the first pole vault over 18 feet. [1] The record was later beaten by Swede Kjell Isaksson who achieved 5.51 metres on 8 April 1972.

Papanikolaou was ranked by Track and Field News among the top ten pole vaulters a total of seven times between 1966 and 1972, more than any other Greek athlete. His highest ranking position was second in 1970. [2]

[edit] Achievements

Year	Tournament	Venue	Result	Extra
1966	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	2nd
1967	Mediterranean Games	Tunis, Tunisia	1st	5.15 CR
1968	Olympic Games	Mexico City, Mexico	4th
1970	Universiade	Turin, Italy	2nd
1971	Mediterranean Games	İzmir, Turkey	1st	5.20 CR
1972	Olympic Games	Munich, West Germany	11th