Track Athletics in Detail (extract)

THE POLE VAULT 91 by stepping up to the posts and holding the pole upright until it touches the bar. Let it fall back then, and grasp it with the lower hand one foot below the point where it touched the cross-piece. For a vaulter who takes off with the left foot, the lower hand is the left hand. For a man who takes off with the right foot, it is just the other way. For the sake of convenience and clearness, let us understand that we are now speaking of one who takes off with the left foot. Having measured the pole, the athlete seizes it with both hands, thumbs up, the left hand forward at the spot indicated, and the right hand from 2^ to 3 feet farther up. He then retreats to the spot