Who is the Best American Pole Vaulter in History

[provaulter17]

to me it would be joe dial, he was a lil man but he got pretty high for his highth!!!

[lonestar]

Fiberglass era: Jeff Hartwig - how much did he improve after college and how many times has he been over 6 meters?

Bamboo era: Dutch Warmerdam - 15'6 in the 1940's on a damn tree on a grass runway into a long jump pit is pretty damn impressive, and how long did that world record stand? Like 15 years?

[lonpvh]

I would have to say Dutch with Jeff being a close second. I'll take a beating for this, but I don't want to even see Staci's name even mentioned. HA HA!!!!! Guys rule!! Lon

[rainbowgirl28]

I would have to say Dutch with Jeff being a close second. I'll take a beating for this, but I don't want to even see Staci's name even mentioned. HA HA!!!!! Guys rule!! Lon

*punches you* Girls rock too Stacy will probably not eternally be the greatest women's vaulter ever. But right now she has done the most for women's pole vault and has been a great ambassador for the sport

I would agree with Dutch being the greatest ever for guys, although it is hard to compare between fiberglass and bamboo.

[zack]

Dutch Warmerdam should definitely be mentioned along with any modern era vaulter. The only thing wrong with mentioning Hartwig is his lack of World Champs. or Olympic medals. To me winning major championships is a lot more important then jumping high. He is still great vaulter though. For some reason Bob Seagren seems to stick out but I'm not sure what he did besides his win in MExico City.

[Azbeachboy1]

A good question will be, if this post is in 15 years, will we see Tommy Skippers name up there?

[lonpvh]

Zack, I agree with you about the championship, but jumping 6m is HUGE, much less to do it that many times. 91 times over 19', 221 times over 18'. Those are staggering.

Becca, sorry for the shot against the women.

And no, I don't think Tommy will be mentioned in 15 years.

LON

[zack]

Yeah, I think its nearly impossible to pick one American vaulter that is clearly superior. There just hasn't been anyone as totally dominant as someone like Bubka was in winning six WCs in a row and a gazillion WRs. So I'm just going to stick to Dutch because he raised the bar (sorry bad pun) so much higher then anyone else in his era.

[zack]

Oh and as for Tommy I think we should just wait and see how he does. He may or may not be great. Who knows.

[Azbeachboy1]

And no, I don't think Tommy will be mentioned in 15 years.

LON

Com'n you can't say somthing like that without explaining yourself. It leaves people like me asking, "Why did he say that?"
Also, in my opinion, is anyone else suprised that LOJO hasn't better career than he has. There was points in his life that he seemed that he would for sure be a top contender for the next man over 20. Who knows mabye he still is, but...... I guess we'll see.

[lonpvh]

None of the high school phenoms have made it successfully to the legendary status. Many different factors. I'm not saying he will be successful, but legendary, that takes something more than physical ability. Lojo is a perfect example. He is just missing the boat on the art of pole vaulting. Knowing the numbers and playing the game. Not trying to just overpower the sport. That just gets you hurt. Hope I'm wrong, I have nothing wrong with Tommy doing extremely well and America staying on top. Lon

[wacky274]

my comment is just about the winning major championship thing. I think that it is important to win major championships to prove you can handle pressure, but to me it's also VERY important about how high, and how conisistent at getting high a vaulter is....just my thoughts