Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault

The men's pole vault event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California had an entry list of 19 competitors from 13 nations, with two qualifying groups (19 jumpers) before the final (12) took place on Wednesday August 8, 1984.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Pierre Quinon of France, the nation's first medal in the men's pole vault. France also took one of the two bronze medals after Thierry Vigneron tied with Earl Bell of the United States for third. Mike Tully, also American, earned silver. Bell and Tully continued the American streak of podium appearances in the event every time the United States competed.

Men's pole vault
at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad
Pierre Quinon (1986)
VenueLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Date6 August 1984 (qualifying)
8 August 1984 (final)
Competitors19 from 13 nations
Winning height5.75
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Pierre Quinon
 France
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Mike Tully
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Earl Bell
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Thierry Vigneron
 France
← 1980
1988 →

Background

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This was the 20th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1980 Games were seventh-place finisher Thierry Vigneron of France and tenth-place finisher Miro Zalar of Sweden. Earl Bell of the United States, who had been a finalist in 1976 but was kept out of the Moscow Games by the boycott, also returned. Poland and the Soviet Union had become powers in the event in the late 1970s and early 1980s; the Soviet-led boycott kept out significant competitors including the world champion and world record holder Sergey Bubka. The United States had dominated the event through 1968 and still maintained perennially contending teams; Bell and Mike Tully were among the favorites. France also had a strong team and was the only nation of the four to compete in both 1980 and 1984; Vigneron's finish in Moscow had been disappointing, and he sought a better result in Los Angeles along with teammate Pierre Quinon.[2]

The People's Republic of China and the Virgin Islands each made their men's pole vaulting debut. The United States made its 19th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

Competition format

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The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1912, with results cleared between rounds. Vaulters received three attempts at each height. Ties were broken by the countback rule. At the time, total attempts was used after total misses.

In the qualifying round, the bar was set at 5.10 metres, 5.20 metres, 5.30 metres, 5.35 metres, 5.40 metres, and 5.45 metres. All vaulters clearing 5.45 metres advanced to the final. If fewer than 12 cleared that height, the top 12 (including ties) advanced.

In the final, the bar was set at 5.10 metres, 5.20 metres, 5.30 metres, 5.40 metres, and then increased by 5 centimetres as a time.[2][3]

Records

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Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record   Sergey Bubka (URS) 5.90 London, United Kingdom 13 July 1984
Olympic record   Władysław Kozakiewicz (POL) 5.78 Moscow, Soviet Union 30 July 1980

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition. The following national records were established during the competition:

Nation Athlete Round Time
  Virgin Islands Brian Morrissette Qualifying 5.20

Schedule

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All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)

Date Time Round
Monday, 6 August 1984 9:30 Qualifying
Wednesday, 8 August 1984 16:10 Final

Results

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Key

  • o = Height cleared
  • x = Height failed
  • = Height passed
  • r  = Retired
  • SB = Season's best
  • PB = Personal best
  • NR = National record
  • AR = Area record
  • OR = Olympic record
  • WR = World record
  • WL = World lead
  • NM = No mark
  • DNS = Did not start
  • DQ = Disqualified

Qualifying round

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The qualifying round was held on Monday August 6, 1984. Qualification rule: Qualifying performance 5.45 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the final.

Rank Group Athlete Nation 5.10 5.20 5.30 5.35 5.40 5.45 Height Notes
1 A Thierry Vigneron   France o o 5.45 Q
A Earl Bell   United States o o 5.45 Q
A Mike Tully   United States o o 5.45 Q
4 A Alberto Ruiz   Spain xo xo xo xxo 5.45 Q
5 A Pierre Quinon   France xo o 5.40 q
6 B Kimmo Pallonen   Finland o o xo xo 5.40 q
7 A Felix Böhni   Switzerland o xxo xxx 5.40 q
8 A Tom Hintnaus   Brazil o xxx 5.35 q
9 B Mauro Barella   Italy o o xo xxo 5.35 q
10 A Serge Ferreira   France o xxx 5.30 q
A Doug Lytle   United States o xxx 5.30 q
B Yang Weimin   China o o o xxx 5.30 q
B Jeff Gutteridge   Great Britain o o xxx 5.30 q
B Tomomi Takahashi   Japan xxo xxx 5.30 q
15 B Brian Morrissette   Virgin Islands o o x– xx 5.20 NR
16 B Keith Stock   Great Britain xo xo xxx 5.20
17 B Ji Zebiao   China xo xxx 5.10
18 B Edgardo Rivera   Puerto Rico xxo x– xx 5.10
A Miro Zalar   Sweden xxx No mark
B Alfonso Cano   Spain DNS

Final

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The final was held on Wednesday August 8, 1984.

Rank Athlete Nation 5.10 5.20 5.30 5.40 5.45 5.50 5.55 5.60 5.65 5.70 5.75 5.80 Height
  Pierre Quinon   France xo x– o o xxx 5.75
  Mike Tully   United States o o xxo xxx 5.65
  Earl Bell   United States o o o xxx 5.60
  Thierry Vigneron   France o o xxx 5.60
5 Kimmo Pallonen   Finland xo xo xxx 5.45
6 Doug Lytle   United States o xxx 5.40
7 Felix Böhni   Switzerland o xxx 5.30
8 Mauro Barella   Italy xxo xxo xxx 5.30
9 Alberto Ruiz   Spain o xxx 5.20
10 Yang Weimin   China xo xxx 5.10
11 Jeff Gutteridge   Great Britain xxo xxx 5.10
Tom Hintnaus   Brazil xxx No mark
Serge Ferreira   France xxx No mark
Tomomi Takahashi   Japan xxx No mark

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Pole Vault". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Pole Vault, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 2, p. 286.
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