Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault

Men's pole vault at the Games of the I Olympiad
Venue	Panathinaiko Stadium
Dates	April 10
Competitors	5 from 2 nations
Medalists
William Hoyt United States   Albert Tyler United States   Evangelos Damaskos Greece   Ioannis Theodoropoulos Greece

Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m		men
400 m		men
800 m		men
1500 m		men
110 m hurdles		men
Road events
Marathon		men
Field events
Long jump		men
Triple jump		men
High jump		men
Pole vault		men
Shot put		men
Discus throw		men

The men's pole vault was one of four jumping events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. Five athletes competed in the pole vault. The two Americans far outclassed the three Greeks, starting higher than the Greeks could clear and taking first and second places. Damaskos and Theodoropoulos tied for third, while Xydas took fifth.

Results

Place	Athlete	Height
1	William Hoyt (USA)	3.30 m
2	Albert Tyler (USA)	3.20 m
3	Evangelos Damaskos (GRE)	2.60 m
	Ioannis Theodoropoulos (GRE)	2.60 m
5	Vasilios Xydas (GRE)	2.40 m

The three Greeks began with the bar at 2.40 metres. All three made that mark. The bar was then raised .10 metres at a time, eliminating Xydas after he failed the second jump and the other two after they failed the fourth height. The American pair did not jump at any of those heights, instead beginning at 2.80 metres, a height that gave neither any difficulty. Tyler was unable to clear the 3.30 metres height, and Hoyt failed at 3.40 metres.

References

• Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J.; & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at la84foundation.org)
• Mallon, Bill; & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at la84foundation.org)
• Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.