Tim McMichael wrote:vaultman18 wrote:VaultMarq26 wrote:I am beginning to think that too many people try to look like or jump like the elite vaulters when, in reality, few people have the athletic ability to do what they do with the grip that they do. Has anyone ever explored the model for a male vaulter who is under 6' tall and is not running sub-10.8 in the 100m, and only has a vertical in the mid to upper 20's in inches?
Yes the model is called the petrov model it can be applied to any vaulter of any level. It is the only model that will accept any level athlete and not limit their end success.
Of course, I am going to have to disagree. Everything I said in the "Oklahoma Pole Vault Manifesto" explains why. A shorter athlete who is limited in terms of vertical leap cannot succeed against taller vaulters who can jump off the ground. It is simply impossible. They are giving up too much in terms of center of gravity to start with. a 6'6" vaulter will be gripping over 17' taking off from the same spot as a 5"8" vaulter who is gripping 15'6". This is a crushing advantage. If they both use the Petrov model and apply the same forces to the pole, the taller vaulter will win by more than a foot every time.
Shorter athletes can, however, use their gymnastic advantage to make up some ground. There have been a handful of very small vaulters who have been able to hold their own against much larger competitors. They are few and far between, but it has been done. Joe Dial, Jeff Buckingham, and Greg Duplantis were all under 5’9â€Â