The first world record in the men's pole vault was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1912.
As of April 20, 2024, 80 world records have been ratified by the IAAF (now World Athletics) in the event. Since 2000, World Athletics makes no distinction between indoor and outdoor settings when establishing pole vault world records. This new rule was not applied retroactively. The introduction in the early 1950s of flexible vaulting poles made from composites such as fiberglass or carbon fiber allowed vaulters to achieve greater height. The present record of was set by Armand Duplantis, competing at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala, Sweden.
Record progression This table lists jumps ratified by World Athletics (formerly the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)) as world records, which includes tying or surpassing the existing record. Ratified Not ratified Ratified but later rescinded Pending ratification
Mark Athlete Nation Venue Date # Francis Temple Woolwich October 6, 1849 1 Robert Mitchell London June 19, 1868 1 Edwin Woodburn Newton August 31, 1872 1 Lancaster June 2, 1873 2 William Kelsey Sheffield July 7, 1873 1 John Wigfull 1 Edwin Woodburn London March 30, 1874 3 John Wigfull Sheffield July 5, 1875 2 A. Hammond Bury St.Edmunds March 30, 1876 1 Edwin Woodburn Ulverston July 21, 1876 4 Thomas Ray September 19, 1879 1 Birmingham July 16, 1881 2 Bradford August 12, 1882 3 Nottingham June 16, 1883 4 Preston August 18, 1883 5 Grasmere August 20, 1885 6 Whitehaven August 13, 1886 7 Grasmere August 18, 1887 8 Whitehaven August 19, 1887 9 Ernest Stones Southport June 2, 1888 1 Thomas Ray Barrow September 22, 1888 10 Ernest Stones Grasmere August 23, 1889 2 Richard Dickenson Kidderminster July 4, 1891 1 Raymond Clapp Chicago June 16, 1898 1 Norman Dole Berkeley April 23, 1904 1 Fernand Gonder Paris June 26, 1904 1 Gradignan June 4, 1905 2 Leroy Samse Chicago June 2, 1906 1 Walter Dray New Haven May 18, 1907 1 Philadelphia April 25, 1908 2 Alfred Gilbert June 6, 1908 1 New Haven June 12, 1908 2 Walter Dray Danbury June 13, 1908 3 Leland Scott Berkeley April 30, 1910 1 Boulder May 27, 1910 2 Robert Gardner Philadelphia June 1, 1912 1 Marc Wright Cambridge, U.S. June 8, 1912 1 Frank Foss Antwerp, Belgium August 20, 1920 1 Charles Hoff Copenhagen, Denmark September 22, 1922 1 July 22, 1923 2 Oslo, Norway August 13, 1925 3 Turku, Finland September 27, 1925 4 Sabin Carr Philadelphia, U.S. May 28, 1927 1 Lee Barnes Fresno, U.S. April 28, 1928 1 William Graber Palo Alto, U.S. July 16, 1932 1 Keith Brown Boston, U.S. June 1, 1935 1 George Varoff Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. July 4, 1936 1 Bill Sefton Los Angeles, U.S. May 29, 1937 1 Earle Meadows 1 Cornelius Warmerdam Fresno, U.S. June 29, 1940 1 Compton, U.S. June 26, 1941 2 Modesto, U.S. May 23, 1942 3 Robert Gutowski Palo Alto, U.S. April 27, 1957 1 Don Bragg July 2, 1960 1 George Davies Boulder, U.S. May 20, 1961 1 John Uelses Santa Barbara, U.S. March 31, 1962 1 Dave Tork Walnut, U.S. April 28, 1962 1 Pentti Nikula Kauhava, Finland June 22, 1962 1 Brian Sternberg Philadelphia, U.S. April 27, 1963 1 Compton, U.S. June 7, 1963 2 John Pennel London, England August 5, 1963 1 Coral Gables, U.S. August 24, 1963 2 Fred Hansen San Diego, U.S. June 13, 1964 1 Los Angeles, U.S. July 25, 1964 2 Bob Seagren Fresno, U.S. May 14, 1966 1 John Pennel Los Angeles, U.S. July 23, 1966 3 Bob Seagren San Diego, U.S. June 10, 1967 2 Paul Wilson Bakersfield, U.S. June 23, 1967 1 Bob Seagren Echo Summit, U.S. September 12, 1968 3 John Pennel Sacramento, U.S. June 21, 1969 4 Wolfgang Nordwig Berlin, Germany June 17, 1970 1 Turin, Italy September 3, 1970 2 Christos Papanikolaou Athens, Greece October 24, 1970 1 Kjell Isaksson Austin, U.S. April 8, 1972 1 Los Angeles, U.S. April 15, 1972 2 Helsingborg, Sweden June 12, 1972 3 Bob Seagren Eugene, U.S. July 2, 1972 4 David Roberts Gainesville, U.S. March 28, 1975 1 Earl Bell Wichita, U.S. May 29, 1976 1 David Roberts Eugene, U.S. June 22, 1976 2 Władysław Kozakiewicz Milan, Italy May 11, 1980 1 Thierry Vigneron Paris, France June 1, 1980 1 Lille, France June 29, 1980 2 Philippe Houvion Paris, France July 17, 1980 1 Władysław Kozakiewicz Moscow, Soviet Union July 30, 1980 2 Thierry Vigneron Mâcon, France June 20, 1981 3 Vladimir Polyakov Tbilisi, Soviet Union June 26, 1981 1 Pierre Quinon Cologne, Germany August 28, 1983 1 Thierry Vigneron Rome, Italy September 1, 1983 4 Sergey Bubka Bratislava, Czechoslovakia May 26, 1984 1 Paris, France June 2, 1984 2 London, England July 13, 1984 3 Thierry Vigneron Rome, Italy August 31, 1984 5 Sergey Bubka 4 Paris, France July 13, 1985 5 Moscow, Soviet Union July 8, 1986 6 Prague, Czechoslovakia June 23, 1987 7 Bratislava, Czechoslovakia June 9, 1988 8 Nice, France July 10, 1988 9 Shizuoka, Japan May 6, 1991 10 Moscow, Soviet Union June 9, 1991 11 Formia, Italy July 8, 1991 12 Malmö, Sweden August 5, 1991 13 Dijon, France June 13, 1992 14 Padua, Italy August 30, 1992 15 Tokyo, Japan September 19, 1992 16 Sestriere, Italy July 31, 1994 17 Renaud Lavillenie Donetsk, Ukraine February 15, 2014 1 Armand Duplantis Toruń, Poland February 8, 2020 1 Glasgow, UK February 15, 2020 2 Belgrade, Serbia March 7, 2022 3 March 20, 2022 4 Eugene, U.S. July 24, 2022 5 Clermont-Ferrand, France February 25, 2023 6 Eugene, U.S. September 17, 2023 7 Xiamen, China April 20, 2024 8Paris, France August 5, 2024 9Chorzów, PolandAugust 25, 202410 Clermont-Ferrand, FranceFebruary 28, 2025 11Stockholm, SwedenJune 15, 2025 12Budapest, HungaryAugust 12, 2025 136.30 m (20 ft 8 in)Tokyo, JapanSeptember 15, 2025World Athletics Championships 2025: Duplantis soars to pole vault gold and new world record – live The Guardian 14 Uppsala, SwedenMarch 12th, 202615 Notes:
See also Men's pole vault indoor world record progression Women's pole vault world record progression List of pole vaulters who reached 6 metres
References
External links
IOC data About