|
|
|
|
|
Vault World
"The girls had a great season. Some members are inexperienced, but performances really improved through the season," stated Coach Russo. Junior, Emily Keeley a participant in pole vaulting said, "There were a lot of newcomers this year. It was hard in the beginning but everyone improved greatly." "Although I didn't do very well this year, I enjoyed learning from others that had done very well overall," stated a freshman member of the team.
History of Pole Vaulting
The "pole vault" originated in Europe where men used the pole to cross canals filled with water. The goal of this type of vaulting was distance rather than height.
In the late 1800's, colleges started competing in the pole vault. Originally the vaulters used bamboo poles with a sharp point at the bottom. They competed on grass, planting the point in the grass (because the holes used today in competition were not allowed), vaulting over a pole used for height and landing back on the grass. In the 1896 Olympics, the record set with a bamboo pole was 10 ft 6 in (about 3.2 m).
As heights started to increase because of improvements in technique and materials, mats started to be used for landing. Now the modern pole vault takes place on an all-weather track surface with a box for planting the pole in and plenty of padding in the landing pit. Modern poles are made of advanced composite materials like carbon fiber. The world record today is over 23 feet.