John Uelses

John Uelses (born Hans Feigenbaum in Berlin, Germany, 1937) is a retired American pole vaulter and Corporal in the United States Marine Corps who graduated from La Salle University in Philadelphia in 1965. He was the first person to ever pole vault 16' (4.88 m). He held the world record in the pole vault for a short time with his personal best of 4.89 m. Uelses, being one of the first vaulters to jump on a fiberglass pole, made this new style of vaulting pole the standard with his 16' jump. He was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated on Feb 26 1962. As a member of the Explorer track team, he won the NCAA pole vault championship in 1964, three IC4A championships and two MAC championships in the event. He also played soccer for La Salle.

He was born in Germany just before the outset of World War II. When war broke out, his father was sent to the Russian front and died there. His single mother struggled and in 1949 sent the 11-year-old boy to live with an aunt in Miami, Florida, who adopted him. Hans anglicized his first name to John and took the family surname. He gained American citizenship after elementary school. He attended Miami High School, first running hurdles and throwing events before a friend enticed him to pole vault. He cleared 10'6" on the first day, improving to 13' by the end of his first year.

As a four time world record holder in pole vault, Uelses was a world class track and field athlete. He was the first in history to clear 16 ft. breaking both the indoor and outdoor records. Sixteen feet was seen to be a psychological barrier similar to breaking the four-minute mile. His first record over 16' was 16' 1/4" at a sold out crowd for the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden on February 2, 1962. A week later he again jumped over 16', this time in Boston. He later made a world record outdoor jump in California, clearing 16' 3/4" at the Santa Barbara Easter Relays.

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