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I have been vaulting since my freshman year in high school and ever since then I have fallen in love with the sport. This extreme sport is unique and becoming more and more popular among athletes.
I was required to write a research paper for my English 102 class at Boise State University, so I decided to research the history of the Olympics and the Pole vault and figure out when they came together, and how the pole vault came to be an Olympic event. Here is what I have put together...
Ancient Olympic History
Judith Swaddling, head of the Italian collections in the Department of Greek and Romans at the British Museum and having executed many exhibitions on the subject of the ancient Olympic Games, wrote a book called "The Ancient Olympic Games." Much of my research came from this book.
The Olympic Games would not be what they are today if it weren't for efforts of ancient Greece and its surrounding city-states. According to Swaddling, the ancient Games were created in honor of the Greek God, Zeus, by Heracles in 776 B.C. In addition to being an honorary celebration, one of the greatest aspects of the ancient Olympic Games was its goal of promoting peace and unity through the "Olympic Truce." According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the purpose of the Olympic Truce was to provide a period of total peace and unity among Greek nations and colonies.
It constituted an agreement to cease all acts of wars and conflicts between contending populations for the duration of the Games.
In its early years the Ancient Games were a day long event consisting the stade race, and other non-athletic presentations such as art, plays, and poetry. As the years went on each celebration grew longer and more dynamic. By the 5th century B.C. the Ancient Games expanded to become a five day grandeur! By this time the athletics incorporated into the programe were the: pentathlon, pankration, wrestling, boxing, and equestrian events.
Pentathlon- The pentathletes competed in the discus throw, javelin throw, running events, long jump, and wrestling. These athletes had to be proficient in all of these events in order to do well. Within the running events there was the stade (equivalent to the 200 m.), diaulous (equivalent to the 400 m.), and the dolichos (approximately three miles).
Wrestling- There were two types: Upright and Ground wrestling. Upright wrestling is what we are used to. Basically to win you had to get your opponent's back, hip, or shoulders to the ground three times. Ground wrestling had the same rules except that to win your opponent had to essentially give up by raising a finger on his right hand.
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Just as winners of the Olympics today become local heroes, so did they victors of the ancient Olympics. They became heroes and legends. Winners received a sacred olive wreath crown that they wore on their head and often times had a statue of them built in their honor.
The Games became a major part of Greek and Roman culture. The celebration was held every four years at Olympia. For centuries the Games continued to be carried out until they were put to death when all pagan cults were banned by Theodosius I in 393 A.D.
Here is a link to a video that was put together by the International Olympic Committee illustrating the history of the ancient Olympic Games! http://www.olympic.org/ancient-olympic-games
The ancient Games created a historical movement of athletics. Sports have become a part of many cultures throughout the world; having more importance in some cultures than in others. Likewise, many cultures hold competitions of the sports they enjoy. Throughout history, following 393 A.D., many attempts at reviving the Olympic Games were made, however none of these attempts had the results comparable to the ancient Games.
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About the Pole Vault
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History of the Pole Vault
In the "Illustrated History of the Pole Vault," written by Jan Johnson and Russ Versteeg, it states that pole vaulting may date back as far as 2500 B.C. It is almost impossible to pin point the time when the idea of pole vaulting came about, which is why we refer to educated guesses.
In its earliest form, pole vaulting was a tactic used to get from one place to another, because humans discovered the mechanical advantage that long poles could offer. For example, ancient warriors utilized long poles as a giant lever to get themselves up and over castle walls, while farmers used poles on a daily basis to leap over large ditches and canals, and to get up onto animals' backs (Griffin). According to Jan Johnson and Russ Versteeg, pole vaulting was first practiced as a sporting discipline in the Tailteann Games in ancient Ireland, when they first started in 1829 BC (7). There is no evidence of vaulting competitions prior to ancient Ireland. The pole vault competitions held here were different than what we see today. After concluding his research, Dylan De Castro, professional writer and journalist for Livestrong.com stated that, interestingly enough, rather than vaulting for height, competitors competed for distance (1).
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Even though pole vaulting existed during the time period of the Greek Olympic Games, the sport must have not been popular enough to be included. The modern day pole vaulting movement was initiated by Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths, also known as the Father of German physical education. GutsMuths developed a great interest for the pole vault and its potential to better his students overall performance. In Johnson's and Versteeg's book they reiterate this by quoting Johann GutsMuths words:
I am convinced that it is scarcely possible to acquire by any other mode of exercise, what may be accomplished by pole vaulting; and that strength and pliability of body, courage and presence of mind, preservation of equilibrium and accuracy of eye are promoted by it in an extraordinary degree; whence I cannot but wish, that this exercise may by no means be omitted in a plan of physical education (19).
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The Pole Vault today
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On the women's side, Yelena Isinbaeva holds the outdoor world record of 5.06 m. (16.6 ft) set in 2009 and the indoor world record of 5.00 m. (16.4 ft) set in 2009 as well.
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My Pole Vault Career
I started pole vaulting when I was an tiny little freshman at Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho. My father vaulted in high school and loved it, and he suggested I give it a try. So, me being ambitious, I tried it. I struggled to rid myself of the fear of getting myself upside down on the pole. However, I had an amazing interest for the sport. I continued to practice and do drill after drill and workout after workout. By the end of my freshman year I had vaulted 9 ft. Not too shabby. I had a breakthrough my Sophomore year. I had the best coach I could have asked for. He helped me tremendously. I had vaulted a new personal best of 13 feet at the Idaho High School Track and Field Championships. Being very confident coming into my third season, I continued to improve. I vaulted a new personal record of 14 feet 6 inches during the regular season. At the end of my Junior year I felt like my hard work was wasted when I no heighted at the State meet. As a my Senior year rolled around I had set some very high standards for myself. I had a goal to place at the State meet and vault 15 feet, which would tie the record at Centennial High School. I started my season off great with taking first place in my first 5 meets vaulting 14 feet. As happy as I was, I still wasn't satisfied because I had not yet reached my 15 foot barrier. In the biggest meet of the year, besides Districts and State, I no heighted. It really tore me down. I didn't know what happened. The following two weeks I pulled myself together and got my team two more wins. The last of those two meets was the District qualifying meet, and I did qualify. I showed up to the District meet as ready as I'd ever be. I didn't enter the competition until the bar was raised to 13 feet, so I had a lot of time to get into focus. The bar finally was put up to 13 feet and I was given my two practice vaults. I got really nervous and my first practice vault wasn't so great. I went back to do my second vault and I told my self I was going to run as fast as I could and be as strong as I could. Well, I did just that and as a result my pole snapped in half in the middle of my vault. I would have to say that was one of the scariest moments in my life. I was okay, but I didn't have another pole of that same size. So I had to use a smaller one and ended up no heighting at Districts, which meant that I did not qualify for State. The next few days were just about the worst days of my life, until I received a call from my coach. He called me to tell me that he had written a petition and sent it to the officials in charge of the State meet stating my situation and asked that they allow me to compete. He told me that they accepted it and that I would be vaulting in the State meet that weekend. I walked into the meet very prepared and confident, putting all my previous experiences behind me. Once again I did not come into the competition until 13 feet. My first two attempts at 13 feet I knocked the bar down. I was nervous and my mind was going crazy, because I received a second chance at this opportunity and I thought I was going to blow it. My coach gave me a little pep talk that, to him, probably seemed pointless, but to me calmed my nerves. Thanks to him I cleared 13 feet on my last attempt and moved on. I went on to take first place clearing 15 feet, with my good friend taking second place right behind me and my teammate taking third place behind him. That became the happiest day of my life and my greatest achievement. I am not done with vaulting. I plan to go on to vault at BYU in Provo, Utah. There I will set a whole new bundle of goals.
Here is a video the my coach and I made my Junior year...
- http://www.justsymbol.com/olympic-symbol-11.html
- http://www.bible-history.com/ibh/Greek+Customs/Games/Olympic+Boxing
- http://www.completehumanbeing.com/pankration.html
- http://www.amnhblogs.org/exhibitions/horse/?section=howshaped&page=howshaped_fv
- http://indianolympic.wordpress.com/category/history/
- http://polevaultphysics.blogspot.com/2010/11/certain-brand-of-character-eh.html
- http://illumin.usc.edu/143/soaring-to-new-heights-the-evolution-of-pole-vaulting-and-pole-materials/
- http://www128.pair.com/r3d4k7/Climbing&Gymnastics1.1.html
- http://www.rottentomatoes.com/quiz/the-ultimate-sports-quiz-947213/
- http://rt.com/sport/isinbayeva-russia-pole-vault-london-olympics-011/
- http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/story/2012-03-11/world-indoor-championships/53482816/1
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