Interesting news clip

[swtvault]

Found this on michtrack.org under "100 best competitions."


Track & Field News' Cordner Nelson called it the "best competition" in pole vault history. It got serious when the bar went up to an Olympic record 18-2.5 with nine competitors left. Four made it, and three were eliminated.

At the next height (18-4.5), two more cleared, including Poland's Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz, a failed favorite of the previous Olympics. The rest passed. Everyone jumped at 18-6.5, but only Kozakiewicz emerged with a perfect record. His three rivals—Philippe Houvion, teammate Tadeusz Slusarski and Russia's Konstantin Volkov—all needed three attempts.

At 18-8.25, Houvion and Slusarski went out, while "Kozak" cleared on his first attempt. Volkov took two efforts, and passed his third. Kozak then faced 18-10.25. The partisan Russian crowd began to whistle while he stood on the runway, in an attempt to spoil his jump. The announcer pleaded for quiet, to no avail. Kozak ignored the din, and soared over the bar. When he landed, he stood and defiantly flashed the crowd an obscene gesture.

When Volkov missed, the Pole had the gold, but he wasn't done. He had the bar raised to 18-11.5, a world record height. He cleared on his second try, and then put in three more attempts in the vain hope of becoming the first man to clear 19-feet (actually 19-1).

[Bruce Caldwell]

yes He was the man and he was jumping on a pole very similar to the ESSX today designed by Bruce Caldwell Made by Sky Pole Paul Richards TX ESSX is not my first time at designing vaulting poles.
My first design was in High School 1969

Stiffer butt

A POLE on a POLE