The men's pole vault event at the

1928 Olympic Games 1928 Olympics may refer to: *The 1928 Winter Olympics, which were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland *The 1928 Summer Olympics, which were held in Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most po ...

took place on August 1. Twenty athletes from thirteen nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation was four.Official Report, p. 374. The event was won by

Sabin Carr Sabin William Carr (September 4, 1904, in Dubuque, Iowa – September 12, 1983, in Santa Barbara, California) was an American athlete who competed in the men's pole vault. He competed in Athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam a ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, for the nation's eighth consecutive victory in the men's pole vault. Americans William Droegemuller and

Charles McGinnis Charles English McGinnis (October 4, 1906 – April 29, 1995) was an American track and field athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault. He competed for the United States in the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam, Netherlands ) , ...

won silver and bronze respectively, giving

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

their second consecutive and third overall medal sweep in the Olympic pole vault event.

Background

This was the eighth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1924 Games were gold medalist

Lee Barnes Lee Stratford Barnes (July 16, 1906 – December 28, 1970) was an American athlete from Utah who competed in the men's pole vault. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Oxnard, California. Barnes attended the University of Southern Ca ...

of the United States, fifth-place finisher Victor Pickard of Canada, and seventh-place finisher Maurice Henrijean of Belgium.

of the United States had been the first to break 14 feet, in 1927, but Barnes had broken Carr's record in 1928 and was favored to repeat. Japan and Spain each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its eighth appearance, the only nation to have competed at every Olympic men's pole vault to that point.

Competition format

The competition continued to use the two-round format introduced in 1912, with results cleared between rounds. Vaulters received three attempts at each height. In the qualifying round, the bar was set at 3.30 metres, 3.50 metres, and 3.66 metres. All vaulters clearing 3.66 metres advanced to the final. In the final, the bar was set at 3.50 metres, 3.65 metres, 3.80 metres, 3.90 metres, and then increased by 5 centimetres at a time.Official Report, p. 448.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1928 Summer Olympics.

and William Droegemuller both succeeded at 4.10 metres, breaking the Olympic record. Carr was able to extent the new record to 4.20 metres.

Schedule

Results

Qualifying round

All athletes clearing 3.66 metres advanced to the final. Jump sequences are not known.

Final

There was a jump-off for third place between McGinnis, Pickard, and Barnes, who had all achieved 3.95 metres but not 4.00 metres. In the jump-off, McGinnis was the only one to succeed at 4.10 metres, so he received the bronze medal. Pickard was able to repeat at 3.95 metres, while Barnes was not, so Pickard took fourth place and Barnes took fifth place.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics - Men's pole vault Men's pole vault Pole vault at the Olympics Men's events at the 1928 Summer Olympics