Pole Vault, Men
| Date | 21 – 22 July 1952 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Helsingin Olympiastadion, Helsinki |
| Participants | 28 from 18 countries |
There were 19 qualifiers which led to a five-hour final. Bob Richards, bronze medalist from 1948, was the favorite, having won the 1949-51 AAU and tieing in 1952 with Don Laz, also present in Helsinki. They were the class of the Olympic final, having no misses thru 4.40 (14-5¼) and then were the only two vaulters to clear 4.50 (14-9), both on their second attempts. The competition was thus tied to that point, but Richards made 4.55 (14-11) on his third try to win the gold medal. The best European was Sweden’s Ragnar Lundberg, 1950 European Champion, and he won the bronze medal. He and Soviet Pyotr Denisenko tied at 4.40 (14-5¼), both clearing on the first attempt, and had the same number of misses, but Lundberg had taken one less jump, which was the third tie-breaking rule in this era.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Qualifying Round | Final Round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1025 | Bob Richards |  USA | 4.00 (=6) | 4.55 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 1024 | Don Laz | USA | 4.00 (=6) | 4.50 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 702 | Ragnar Lundberg |  SWE | 4.00 (=1) | 4.40 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 451 | Pyotr Denisenko |  URS | 4.00 (=1) | 4.40 (4) | |||
| 5 | 809 | Valto Olenius |  FIN | 4.00 (13) | 4.30 (5) | |||
| 6 | 315 | Bunkichi Sawada |  JPN | 4.00 (18) | 4.20 (6) | |||
| 7 | 454 | Vladimir Brazhnik | URS | 4.00 (15) | 4.20 (7) | |||
| 8 | 455 | Viktor Knyazev | URS | 4.00 (14) | 4.20 (8) | |||
| 9 | 1026 | George Mattos | USA | 4.00 (=6) | 4.20 (9) | |||
| 10 | 811 | Erkki Kataja | FIN | 4.00 (=1) | 4.10 (10) | |||
| =11 | 952 | Tamás Homonnay |  HUN | 4.00 (=1) | 4.10 (=11) | |||
| =11 | 701 | Lennart Lind | SWE | 4.00 (=6) | 4.10 (=11) | |||
| 13 | 335 | Milan Milakov |  YUG | 4.00 (19) | 4.10 (13) | |||
| =14 | 382 | Rigas Efstathiadis |  GRE | 4.00 (=11) | 3.95 (=14) | |||
| =14 | 161 | Torfi Bryngeirsson |  ISL | 4.00 (=16) | 3.95 (=14) | |||
| 16 | 517 | Erling Kaas |  NOR | 4.00 (=11) | 3.80 (16) | |||
| 17 | 381 | Theodosios Balafas | GRE | 4.00 (=16) | 3.80 (17) | |||
| =18 | 810 | Jukka Piironen | FIN | 4.00 (=1) | 3.80 (=18) | |||
| =18 | 660 | Zeno Dragomir |  ROU | 4.00 (=6) | 3.80 (=18) | |||
| 20 r1/2 | 862 | Walter Hofstetter |  SUI | 3.90 (20) | – | |||
| 21 r1/2 | 358 | Ron Miller |  CAN | 3.90 (21) | – | |||
| =22 r1/2 | 206 | Geoff Elliott |  GBR | 3.80 (=22) | – | |||
| =22 r1/2 | 205 | Tim Anderson | GBR | 3.80 (=22) | – | |||
| =22 r1/2 | 577 | Zenon Ważny |  POL | 3.80 (=22) | – | |||
| 25 r1/2 | 63 | Hélcio da Silva |  BRA | 3.60 (25) | – | |||
| 26 r1/2 | 96 | Gamal El-Sherbini |  EGY | 3.60 (26) | – | |||
| AC r1/2 | 383 | Georgios Roumpanis | GRE | – ( | – | |||
| AC r1/2 | 549 | José Vicente |  PUR | – ( | – | |||
| 410 | Jorge Aguilera |  MEX | – ( | – | ||||
| 281 | Franz Fritz |  AUT | – ( | – | ||||
| 630 | Georges Breitman |  FRA | – ( | – | ||||
| 578 | Edward Adamczyk | POL | – ( | – |
Qualifying Round (21 July 1952 — 15:00)
All those clearing 4.00 metres advanced to the final.
Final Round (22 July 1952 — 15:00)
| Pos | Athlete | NOC | Height | Misses | Total Misses | Total Attempts | 3.60 m | 3.80 m | 3.95 m | 4.10 m | 4.20 m | 4.30 m | 4.40 m | 4.50 m | 4.55 m | 4.60 m | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Richards | USA | 4.55 | 2 | 3 | 10 | - | - | o | o | o | o | o | xo | xxo | xxx | |||
| 2 | Don Laz | USA | 4.50 | 1 | 1 | 7 | - | - | o | o | o | o | o | xo | xxx | – | |||
| 3 | Ragnar Lundberg | SWE | 4.40 | 0 | 1 | 5 | - | - | o | - | o | xo | o | xxx | – | – | |||
| 4 | Pyotr Denisenko | URS | 4.40 | 0 | 1 | 6 | - | - | o | o | xo | o | o | xxx | – | – | |||
| 5 | Valto Olenius | FIN | 4.30 | 1 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | o | xo | xo | xxx | – | – | – | |||
| 6 | Bunkichi Sawada | JPN | 4.20 | 0 | 2 | 6 | - | o | xxo | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | |||
| 7 | Vladimir Brazhnik | URS | 4.20 | 1 | 1 | 5 | - | o | o | o | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | |||
| 8 | Viktor Knyazev | URS | 4.20 | 1 | 2 | 6 | - | o | o | xo | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | |||
| 9 | George Mattos | USA | 4.20 | 2 | 3 | 6 | - | - | o | xo | xxo | xxx | – | – | – | – | |||
| 10 | Erkki Kataja | FIN | 4.10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | - | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =11 | Tamás Homonnay | HUN | 4.10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - | o | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =11 | Lennart Lind | SWE | 4.10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - | o | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 13 | Milan Milakov | YUG | 4.10 | 0 | 1 | 4 | - | o | xo | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =14 | Torfi Bryngeirsson | ISL | 3.95 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =14 | Rigas Efstathiadis | GRE | 3.95 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 16 | Erling Kaas | NOR | 3.80 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 17 | Theodosios Balafas | GRE | 3.80 | 0 | 0 | 2 | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =18 | Jukka Piironen | FIN | 3.80 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =18 | Zeno Dragomir | ROU | 3.80 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |