Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault

Background

This was the 16th appearance of the men's pole vault, one of 12 athletics events held at every Summer Olympics. Returning finalists from 1964 included bronze medalist Klaus Lehnertz (now representing West Germany), Hennadiy Bleznitsov of the Soviet Union, John Pennel of the United States, Herve D'Encausse of France, Ignacio Sola of Spain, and Christos Papanikolau of Greece.

World record holder Bob Seagren was the favorite, with Pennel also a strong contender. Argentina debuted in the event, while East and West Germany competed separately for the first time. The United States made its 16th appearance, the only nation to have competed in every Olympic men's pole vault to that point.

Competition format

The competition had two rounds: qualification and final. In each round, athletes had three attempts per height and were eliminated if they failed to clear it.

They could pass to the next height, with failed attempts carried forward. Heights increased by five-centimetre increments. Those clearing the qualifying height advanced; if fewer than twelve did so, the best twelve (including ties) progressed.

Results

Three men tied at 5.40 metres, with countback rules deciding the medals. Wolfgang Nordwig failed twice before clearing 5.40, while Bob Seagren and Claus Schiprowski each failed once; Nordwig took bronze. Seagren and Schiprowski were then separated by total failures before 5.40: Seagren had one failure (at 5.20) to Schiprowski's two (at 5.25 and 5.35), giving Seagren gold and Schiprowski silver.

Did You Know?

• Eleven men cleared 5.15 metres or higher to break the old Olympic record.
• Nine cleared 5.20 metres or higher, and seven cleared 5.25 metres or higher.