Pole Vault, Men

In May 1961, George Davies changed the pole vaulting world when he broke the world record with a fiberglass pole, clearing 4.83 (15-10) in the Big Eight Conference Championships. Between then and the 1964 Olympics, the world record was bettered 15 times. Improvement was so rapid that many marks never received IAAF approval, as they were quickly superseded by a better mark. The best jumpers in 1962-63 were John Pennel and Brian Sternberg. Sternberg broke the world record three times, the last on 7 June 1963. He was a superb athlete, also one of the best in the United States on the trampoline. On 28 June 1963 he was practicing on the trampoline doing a double-back with a full twist, a simple maneuver for him. But he landed badly, breaking his neck and was rendered quadriplegic. He would never vault, or walk again, though he lived until May 2013.

With Sternberg out, the favorites for Tokyo were Pennel and a vaulter who came on in 1964, Fred Hansen. Hansen set three world records in June-July 1964. He was AAU Champion in 1964 and won the Olympic Trials. Pennel injured his back shortly before the Olympics and would finish only 11th. In the final the competition came down to Hansen and three Germans, Wolfgang Reinhardt, Klaus Lehnertz (both FRG), and Manfred Preußger (GDR). All four cleared five metres on their first attempts. Hansen passed 5.05, while Reinhardt went over on his first try, with Lehnertz and Preußger failing at that height. Thus the gold medal was Reinhardt’s unless Hansen could outjump him at 5.10 (16-8¾). And he did, clearing 5.10 (16-8¾) on his third try while the German missed all three attempts.