Pole Vault origins and beginnings

 Today a little about the history of pole vaulting. 

Some paintings show that pole vault was known to ancient Greece. Greeks were jumping over bulls.

Poles were used as a practical means of passing over natural obstacles in marshy places such as the province in Netherlands. 

(wikipedia.org)

Richard Ganslen in his book The Mechanics of the Pole Vault says about pole vault events in 1826, including 1.300 participants with heights up to 3.3m.

Modern pole vault started in 1850, in England and Germany. Exactly - when the sport was added to the list of exercises of Tuner Gymnastic Clubs. Pole was made from very stiff materials, like bamboo or aluminum. Flexible poles were introduced in the 1950s. The first recorded use of bamboo is set in 1857. Modern pole vaulting technic was developed in the late 1800s, in the United States. 

In the UK, the sport was first practiced at Caledonian Games. 

There's no much information about the first competition or beginnings, but as we see pole is the post with every ancient origin. 

We also see the big difference between present pole vaulting style and the one from past ages. And as you probably expect - the bars pole vaulters jump now would be unbelievable in older times.

1890s US Naval Academy