Bob Gutowski

Olympic medal record
Men's Athletics
Competitor for  United States
Silver 1956 Melbourne Pole vault

Robert Allen "Bob" Gutowski (25 April 1935 - 3 August 1960) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the Pole Vault. He competed for the United States in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia in the Pole Vault where he won the silver medal behind Bob Richards' second consecutive gold medal, after finishing fourth in the US Olympic Trials and only getting to the games on the withdrawal of Jim Graham.

He attended Occidental College in Los Angeles where he won the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1956 (tied) and 1957. He set the World Record in the pole vault on April 27, 1957. Later in 1957 he cleared the highest height ever cleared with a "straight" pole at 15'9.75" though that mark was never ratified as a World Record because the pole passed under the bar.[1]

He was killed in a car accident at Camp Pendleton on 3 August 1960 while a member of the Marine Corps.

References

Sports Reference

Records
Preceded by
Cornelius Warmerdam
Men's Pole Vault World Record Holder
April 27, 1957 – July 2, 1960
Succeeded by
Don Bragg