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I'm not a tall kid only around 5'7 5'9 range, not too sure. I have great speed down the run way which allows me to use poles at least 20 lbs bigger than me, but I'm wondering, is there a major disadvantage in how tall a pole vaulter is?

Yes there is a major disadvantage to being short. But if you are really fast and strong and have really good technique you can still jump high and be competitive. There are a few guys in the 5'8-6' range that jump 19+ and even one guy at like 5'6 to go 19'. When it comes down to it, speed is #1. Height just helps with holding higher.

There are guys like Brian Hancock who is 5'3 and has vaulted 17'7.

it shouldn't really matter about how tall, but in a sense, for what you lack in one area, you make up for it in other areas. renaud lavillenie is only 5'9''-5'10'' and 151lbs and jumped 6.03m(19'9"1/2)(my apologizes if the height is wrong). and though that hes 5'9'' he has great speed down the runway and can up in the air quick, from another point of view, im only 5'9'' and 146lbs with a pr of 17'1''. but i do believe the average range of world class vaulters is 6ft-6'5''. so from my point of view its kinda 50-50, in some ways yes its kinda a disadvantage (cant really explain), but on the other hand its an advantage because though we are at average height, we can also be fast and aggressive down the runway, also having us use pole 20lbs-30lbs heavier. we are also able to swing up, get up in the air quicker and push off a lot more too.

as the others said height does matter

im a jr and am 5 11 and use a 13' and 13' 6" pole and jump 13'
my friend is a sophmore and uses a 14' pole and can only jump 11' 6"
i have great speed (11.5 100 meter) and am a little above average on strength so it helps alot

Yes there is a major disadvantage to being short

I dont totally agree on this one, I guess it depends about how you define short. And optimal hight for a pole vaulter is very difficult to define. As said above Lavillenie (5'10'') is the worlds best vaulter today, and all time best Sergej Bubka was just 6'00''. So even though the average height for world class vaulter is higher it should definitively don´t stop you or anyone else. By the end of the day, it is not the height of the person that will limit the PR for most vaulters.

PVKid,

It does not matter how tall you are! The size of your heart is all that matters in the pole vault and anyone that tells you differently is just making excuses for their own shortcomings! No pun intended.

You want to vault high? Then go do it!

hey

way too much is being made about height...reach height...

with the fiberglass pole and the way "force" should be "input" at takeoff..(considering the shortening of the radius and the trajectory of the top hand). reach height.. pole angle ... have very little bearing on the potential performance.

when you "crunch" the numbers, a difference in a 27 degree pole angle and a 30 degree , which could be a difference in a 10cm reach, pole angle at takeoff hasn't been a factor on all the jumps i have analyzed since 1983.. the "position" at the takeoff (pole tip impact with the back of the box has more bearing on the pole angle and reach height than physical height.

Bubka had a "reach" higher than Tully even though he was 3 or 4 inches shorter.

dj