Best technical vaulters

[rainbowgirl28]

There's no evidence Bubka used steroids so we're not going to speculate further about it.

[kcvault]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GFE8nn9piY at 2:21

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyEmE_bt ... re=related

Svetlana Feofanova IMO the best technical female vaulter of all time and almost the best technical vaulter of all time definitely in the top 10 of all time (male or female).

http://www.stabhochsprung.com/ click on her name here there is a lot of good video of her.

[achtungpv]

1. Sergei Bubka
2. Kjell Isaakson
3. Maksim Tarasov
4. Radion Gataullin
5. Igor Potapovich - rocked the free takeoff, double leg swing in the early 90s.
6. Igor Trandenkov
7. Thibaut Duval - I've only seen a single jump of his...a miss at 5.75...but it was one of the most technically sound jumps I've ever seen.
8. Dimitry Markov
9. Lawrence Johnson - His 5.95 at indoor WC is the best technical jump by an American. Ever.
10. A 17 year old Japanese kid clearing 5.25. The video used to be on stabhochsprung.com. That's 5.25 on a 15' pole. He's about 5'3"/115 pounds. I wish I could remember his name but I think that was his alltime PR.

[zachwinters156]

Third. In the vault technique is a means to an end - unlike gymnastics where technique is the end. While form should follow function, there are no prizes for 'style' in the vault. The question must always be - how closely does an athlete match the biomechanical imperatives of this event -which are now beginning to understand.

I agree with you, but I was just looking for other great vaulters that had technically "correct" form, but as mentioned before, people like lavillenie, who may have a different style, still execute exactly how they intend to. For example, his free take off on nearly every jump.

[timmac-pv]

1. Sergei Bubka
2. Maxim Tarasov
3. R. Gataulin
4. Igor Trandenkov
5. Grigoriy Yegerov
6. I.Potapovitch
7. Danny Ekker
8. Lawrence Johnson
9. Dmitri Markov
10. Okert Brits

I base this list not only on their technique from takeoff but also from their first step, carry of the pole etc

[golfdane]

10. A 17 year old Japanese kid clearing 5.25. The video used to be on stabhochsprung.com. That's 5.25 on a 15' pole. He's about 5'3"/115 pounds. I wish I could remember his name but I think that was his alltime PR.

Could it be Sasase Hiroki? http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/country=JPN/athcode=208615/index.html
Heard stories, that his prejump is extraordinary.
There's a single video on youtube.

[wtfisup]

Hartwig jumped 5.80m or higher in 100+ meets and polevaulted on a world class level untill 40. I think it's safe to say that his technique is one of the most efficent of all-time.

[achtungpv]

Could it be Sasase Hiroki? http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/country=JPN/athcode=208615/index.html
Heard stories, that his prejump is extraordinary.
There's a single video on youtube.

The video was from the IAAF U20 champs in Chile in '00.

After doing some Google-Fu, determined it was Shimo Shunsuke and the vault was 5.20m.

http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographie ... index.html

I also didn't give him enough credit. He was 5'4", 115 pounds.

I could not find a copy of that jump anywhere. It would definitely be worth hunting down though.

[VaultPurple]

This isn't his best jump but Brian Hancock has vaulted 17'7 at 5'3. I have even been told he has jumped 17' with a 14' pole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_vZ4hlV0dY

But one thing to remember when studying technique. I know people think if they jump high it is working, but sometimes people are just really fast. A lot of the shorter guys are blazing down the runway. Huffman and Duplantis both could hit 10m/s on the runway.

[LoZart]

I believe Maxim Tarasov was the most efficient vaulter. His takeoff and inversion was probably the most efficient with multiple 6.0m vaults at much less speed and power as other 6.0m class vaulters.

Must also add Huffman and Manson must be more than honorable mentions as had the best set up for their Take Offs.

1. Tarasov (Approach/Takeoff/Inversion)
2. Bubka (Take Off / Inversion)
3. Huffman (Approach /Take Off / Inversion)
4. Manson (Approach / Take Off)
5. LoJo
6.Duplantis
7. Tully
8. Gautallin
9. Isinbanyeva
10. Potapovich

[Andy_C]

IMO, Bubka had just about the best everything - run, plant, take off and swing. Of course he was an incredible athlete but his technique is what set him apart for me.

A couple of things that really come to mind for me when comparing him to other people:
He has pretty much zero passive phases in his vault. This is still something that elites struggle with today especially if they don't use the Petrov model or something very similar. The only other vaulter that comes to mind with absolutely minimal passive phases is Hooker (though he still has some when he is not jumping his best). IMO these are the only two male vaulters that can "outrun the pole" through every phase of the vault though Hooker does not do it as well - probably due to the leg drop slowing him down during the swing. Still Bubka and Hooker are the two most "active" guys on the pole and that probably comes down to their two respective coaches wanting a similar outcome and having common priorities in terms of technique (broadly speaking).

Insane angle of attack at the top of the pole - we always talk about vaulters needing to extend behind their head (which will actually give you the optimum angle of extension - parallel to the projected final angle of the pole which is straight up) but Bubka is still the only guy that can truly achieve this as far as I've seen.

Bubka also attacks the take off harder than anybody else. Speed and confidence are huge factors but his technique (particularly the plant) allowed him to do it. I can extrapolate that to say that his run and carry was extremely stable and the stages of his run up were executed very well which made his plant effective and take off consistent. That in turn feeds into his confidence so he could go absolutely berserk on the take off without having to worry about much. Another special mention goes to Lavillenie here because it takes some serious guts to take off as far as he does *consistently*!


Also, I agree with Altius in that I think you guys are really not giving the girls enough credit. It is hard to compare at face value since the dynamics of the vault changes between men and women if you're just sitting there looking at it. But that's when you have to really start thinking about things from a scientist's perspective. Of course there's Isi who will always be mentioned because she's the WR holder (and I would probably rate her #2 behind Bubka for technique if she didn't take off under so often) but I think a lot of the other elite girls have better technique than the majority of elite guys out there. It may not *look* as powerful and fast but it is much cleaner in terms of technique. I would go as far as to say that right now the top 10 girls as a whole have better overall technique than the top 10 guys. A lot of this is due to the simple fact that the ladies simply can't power through the vault like the guys can - hence the technique becomes a bigger factor in women's vaulting. If you can somehow take the blueprint Anna Rogowska's or Fabiana Murer's technique and put it into the body of an elite guy it would be a very interesting looking vault scene right now! A lot of guys can jump very high and it all looks fast, strong and impressive but the technique itself is not as good as the girls from a biomechanical perspective. In parallel to what Altius said, I think a lot of thought needs to go into differentiating what "looks good" and what is scientifically ideal when we talk about technique.

-Andrew

[achtungpv]

Feofanova would probably be my tentative pick for best of the women along with Murer and Isinbayeva. When she was at her peak, her technique was actually worse...the top of her vault suffered...probably due to being to far out and a passive phase as she waited for the pole to hit before she swung. As she's dropped in physical prowess, her step has come in a bit, swings instantly, and she's much improved overall in technique, if not heights cleared.