Why 15' was never the World Record

[roger/over]

Working on some men's stats for Gérard Dumas, I ran across an interesting tid-bit in the 2003 edition of Richard Hyman's world records progressions. It has to do with why 15' was never a World Record.

I had known that Dutch Warmerdam's first measured 15' vault (at Berkeley on 13 April 1940) was not ratified as a world record, only because he had improved that to 4.60m on 6 June, before the IAAF could get around to acting on the 15'/4.57m mark and didn't bother with the earlier one. Altogether, Dutch improved on the world best six times and lost three of these as official world records for that reason.

I did not know, though, the reason that the 29 May 1937 world record of Bill Sefton and Earle Meadows was only 14'11". Since they already held the record at 14'8 1/2" (almost certainly a remeasurement of a bar originally placed at 14'9"), I had assumed that the 14'11" was the remeasurement of a bar set for 15'. Since Sefton cleared the height on his second jump and Meadows on his third, it's easy to see that the bar could have been bent that much. Not so, according to Hymans. The bar was set and measured at 14'11" because that was the greatest height to which the standards (at this Pacific Coast Conference Championship in the LA Coliseum) could be raised! Whether either or both could have cleared 15' had they been given the opportunity to try, we'll never know.

[rainbowgirl28]

Interesting!

[AVC Coach]

Great job on the research! You know a few years ago, ESPN rated a vault of 15' or higher #3 on their most difficult athletic feats list.

[CHC04Vault]

Great job on the research! You know a few years ago, ESPN rated a vault of 15' or higher #3 on their most difficult athletic feats list.

It was USA Today, I have the article posted on my wall...still trying to get to 15'

[SKOT]

[quote="CHC04Vault]It was USA Today, I have the article posted on my wall...still trying to get to 15'[/quote]

does anyone have a scanned copy of the article or know if the article still exists online? i have heard rumors of this article, but have never actually seen it and i would like to!

[rainbowgirl28]

It was USA Today, I have the article posted on my wall...still trying to get to 15'

does anyone have a scanned copy of the article or know if the article still exists online? i have heard rumors of this article, but have never actually seen it and i would like to!

http://www.usatoday.com/educate/college ... ports3.pdf

[DBH027]

it is also at this address

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ten-hardest-splash.htm

[mdavis2685]

i actually did my senior project in high school on why 15' was ranked the 3rd most difficult feat to do. And got an A on it, so i guess i proved my case well

[CooperPV]

My Grandpa Don Cooper held the world record at one point (15'2 1/4)... and was also the first college vaulter over 15 feet ... he competed at the Universtiy of Nebrasa i believe around 1948 to 1952 *not possitive on the years.

Kirk

[AVC Coach]

Talk about a conversation piece at family get-togethers. That's something to be proud of!

[CooperPV]

yep sure is ... he has never missed a meet of mine ... so its pretty neat to have his knowledge of the event from when he jumped to ... the knowledge that he knows now ... of course ... he has to always slip in ... i wish i had a fiberglass pole i would have flow'n ... however 15 feet straight pole .. holding at 12 feet is amazing ... so props to him

[roger/over]

It was a great thrill for me, to watch Cooper's 15'1 1/8" at the 1951 Kansas Relays, the first collegiate outdoor fifteen-footer. Don Laz, of the University of Illinois, had an earlier 15' indoors, but it was in the context of an intra-squad competition and I think never considered an NCAA record.

Cooper's collegiate record was extremely short-lived. Two hours later, Laz had a legitimate 15'1 7/8" in a meet at Los Angeles.