1896: First Olympic pole vault
William Hoyt (USA) won gold at 3.30 m / 10 ft 10 in using a wooden pole. The US dominated Olympic pole vault for the first 60 years.
Men's pole vault has been an Olympic event since the inaugural modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. The event has been contested at every Summer Olympics since. Women's pole vault was added in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics, won by Stacy Dragila of the USA. Both men's and women's events use identical rules and equipment standards.
William Hoyt (USA) won gold at 3.30 m / 10 ft 10 in using a wooden pole. The US dominated Olympic pole vault for the first 60 years.
Stacy Dragila (USA) won the first Olympic gold at Sydney with 4.60 m. Women's pole vault had been contested at World Championships since 1999.
Sergey Bubka (Ukraine/Soviet) won 1988. Renaud Lavillenie (France) won 2012. Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) won 2020 (Tokyo) and 2024 (Paris). Women's: Yelena Isinbayeva won 2004 and 2008; Katie Moon won 2020.
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