Robert Seagren (born October 17, 1946) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

er, the 1968 Olympic champion. A native of

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, Seagren was one of the world's top pole vaulters in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He won six National AAU and four

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

titles indoors and outdoors. Indoors he posted eight world bests between 1966 and 1969. He was also the

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champion in 1967. He set his first

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on May 14, 1966, followed by his world records 1967 in

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, 1968 in

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near

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and 1972 in Eugene . In 1968, Seagren participated in his first

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. In an exciting contest, he won the gold medal with the top three vaulters, including silver medalist

Claus Schiprowski Claus Schiprowski (born 27 December 1942 in Gelsenkirchen) is a West German Olympic silver medalist who competed mainly in the pole vault. He won his silver medal at the Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos ...

(

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) and the bronze medal winner

Wolfgang Nordwig Wolfgang Nordwig (born 27 August 1943) is a former East German pole vaulter. He competed in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won a bronze and a gold medal, respectively, clearing 5.50 m in 1972.East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

) reaching the same height . Four years later, in

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, he remains best remembered for the Olympic gold medal he didn't get. In the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, a last-minute ruling barred the new ''banana-Pole'' from Olympic competition, forcing some vaulters, including Seagren, to compete with unfamiliar poles. East German Wolfgang Nordwig didn't use a ''Cata-Pole'' and won the gold medal, with Seagren coming second. It was the first time an American had failed to win the Olympic gold medal in the pole vault. In fact, no American would again win a gold medal in the pole vault until

Nick Hysong Nick E. Hysong (born December 9, 1971 in Winslow, Arizona) is an American athlete competing in the men's pole vault. Best known for winning the Olympic gold medal in 2000 with a personal best jump of 5.90 metres, he also won a bronze medal at the ...

won in 2000. A 1968

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graduate, Seagren took a try at

professional track The International Track Association (ITA) was a professional track and field organization that existed in the United States from 1972 to 1976. The ITA initially attracted many of the big track and field stars of the day to run in its meets and in ...

and later he started his career in

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and

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s as a show host and

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actor. Seagren won the inaugural American ''

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'' sports competition in 1973 as well as the first ''World Superstars'' in 1977, his lone victories in both events. He was able to enjoy the spoils from these competitions because he had become a professional athlete having signed to join the

International Track Association The International Track Association (ITA) was a professional track and field organization that existed in the United States from 1972 to 1976. The ITA initially attracted many of the big track and field stars of the day to run in its meets and in ...

(ITA) tour after the 1972 Olympics. On the ITA tour he renewed his very personal antagonistic rivalry with fellow American pole vaulter

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. Seagren went on to become an actor, appearing in several movies and television shows, including the controversial sitcom ''

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'' in 1977 in which he played Dennis Phillips, a

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football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player in a relationship with

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's character

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. He appeared as a guest star in an episode of ''

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'' in 1980, called "Toni's Boys" as a detective who worked for a friend of Charlie who was also in the detective business. The episode was a backdoor pilot for a new series but the show wasn't picked up by the network. He was referred to in the episode as an "Olympic Champion" although he played a fictional character. He also guest starred on the tv series ''

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'' in the episodes called "Stolen Faces" and "The Man Who Could Not Die". Seagren played himself, serving as an LAPD youth camp counselor on the "Camp Two" episode of ''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American television police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol the stre ...

''. Today, he is

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of International City Racing, which specializes in the development, management, and implementation of

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, and fitness events, including the

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International City Marathon. He is also an active supporter of the Commission on Athletics of the California Community Colleges. He was named to the inaugural class of the Mt. SAC Relays Hall of Fame. In 1986 he was inducted into the

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, b ...

Personal life

From 1970 to 1982, Seagren was married to former teen model, dancer, and co-host of

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's ''

The Groovy Show ''The Groovy Show'' was a half-hour live dance program aired on weekday afternoons on KHJ-TV Channel 9, in the Los Angeles, California market from 1967 to 1970. Overview The program was broadcast from the beach at Santa Monica, California near th ...

'', Kam Nelson. They had a daughter.

References

External links

* See the Eugene record jump @ 19:20 * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seagren, Bob 1946 births Living people American male pole vaulters Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Mt. San Antonio College alumni Sportspeople from Pomona, California World record setters in athletics (track and field) USC Trojans men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from California Junior college men's track and field athletes in the United States Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field American chief executives Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1967 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games