Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault
These are the official results of the Men's Pole Vault at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. The final was held on the third day of the track and field competition, on Monday November 26, 1956.
Bob Richards entered the competition as the defending champion and the best in the world, though he never managed to beat Dutch Warmerdam's world record of 4.77 m (15 ft 7 3⁄4 in) set back in 1942 throughout his career. Richards stayed in first place throughout the competition, with a first attempt clearance at every height up to 4.53m. It was not as easy for him in the qualifying round when Richards struggled at 4.00, well below his normal opening height, missing his first two attempts before clearing it on his last. By 4.35, there were only four athletes left; the three Americans George Mattos, Bob Gutowski and Richards, and UCLA trained Greek athlete Georgios Roubanis using a fiberglass pole in major international competition for the first time. Mattos was unable to get over 4.40m and the medalists were settled. All three cleared 4.50m on their first attempt, though by that point, Roubanis had two misses a lower heights and Gutowski had four. At 4.53m, again Gutowski and Richards cleared on their first attempt, but Roubanis couldn't get over the bar and had to settle for bronze. At 4.56 m (14 ft 11 1⁄2 in), Richards cleared it on his second attempt after his first miss of the competition. When Gutowski was unable to get over the height, Richards confirmed his title defense. No other man has ever defended the Olympic pole vault title, though Yelena Isinbayeva did defend the women's title in 2008 and several men returned to the Olympics to achieve silver after their gold. Richards was rewarded by being the face of Wheaties on their cereal box and was their spokesman until 1976 when Bruce Jenner became the next Olympic hero on the box. The following year, it was Gutowski who finally broke Warmerdam's record using a steel pole. Gutowski finished fourth at the 1956 Olympic Trials and only received his spot in Melbourne after Jim Graham was forced to withdraw with an injury.
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