Athletics of To-Day 1929

CHAPTER XVIII THE PoLE VAULT THE sport of pole vaulting lays no claim to classical antiquity, but probably derives from a natural means of passing over dykes and brooks. Pole vaulting for height, as we know it to-day, has for its object the clearance of a bar supported by pegs on uprights placed not less than 12 ft. apart. It is a purely competitive sport nowadays, but one of the most thrilling and graceful of all athletic events, either to practise or witness. There is something in the swift sprint to the take-off, the well timed planting of the pole-point in the slideway, the smooth leg swing, the strong pull upon muscular arms, and the final soaring over the crossbar by sheer physical cleverness which gives the onlooker and athlete alike a keener pleasure than any other sport can provide. And yet pole vaulting has not prospered in England. The game calls for coolness, dogged determination, sporting skill, and courage above the ordinary, all of which are qualities dear to the British p ople, and yet we have still to produce our really great pole vaulter. When he does appear the honours will fall thick and fast upon him. We started off well enough, for the first English Champion– ship, r866, was won by J. Wheeler, City A.M.A.C. at ro ft., and two years later that great all-round athlete, R. J. C. Mitchell, Manchester A.C., who in two subsequent successive years won four titles in one afternoon, took the record up to ro ft. 6! ins., a height not too frequently reached in English competition to-day. In America, on the other hand, where championships began in 1877, W. Pryor, University of olumbia, took the first Inter- ollegiate title at 7 ft. 4 ins. and G. McNichol, Scottish– American A.C., the National Championship at g ft. 7 ins. 227 . "