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THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST 6-METER POLE VAULTS

Posted on: 07/03/2024

THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST 6-METER POLE VAULTS

 
The mythic 6-meter pole vault bar was cleared for the first time in the summer of 1985 in Paris on a Dimasport mattress, by a certain Sergei Bubka, a Ukrainian athlete.

Serguei Bubka, in Pursuit of Records

It was in 1983 that his quest for records and titles began, at the Helsinki World Championship where he was crowned against all odds at only 19 years old with 5M70.

In 1984, Sergueï Bubka, was already a figure in world athletics and world record holder with 5M83 in the winter [a record which he broke 3 times during the season] and 5M94 in the summer [a record also broken 3 times in the season]. That summer, the world record was also stolen from him for a few moments by the Frenchman Thierry Vigneron with 5M91, a crazy time for the pole vaulting world stage.

In 1985, he was crowned indoor world champion [5M75 in January in Paris Bercy] and European indoor champion [5M70 in March in Athens]. 

On July 13, 1985, the 6-meter barrier was cleared

In July, Bubka travels to France with a small group of athletes for a competition to be held a few days later in the city of Nice.
He had just landed in Paris from Moscow the same morning, when the opportunity for the Paris BNP meeting was offered to him. After a phone consultation with his Coach, Vitaly Petrov*2, he agrees to participate. Raymond Lorre, the organizer of the BNP meeting was able to convince him by offering a bonus of 10,000 dollars for a new world record, a substantial sum for the time.
 *2Serguei Bubka's coach, Vitaly Petrov, is a famous Ukrainian pole vault coach who was later the coach of Yelena Isinbayeva - Double Olympic Champion, World Recordwoman with 5.06 in 2009, Giuseppe Gibilisco, Fabiana Murer and more recently Thiago Braz da Silva, Olympic Champion in Rio in 2016 ahead of Renaud Lavillenie].
 
It was only a few hours after landing in Paris that Bubka went to the Jean Bouin stadium for the Meeting BNP in Paris, on July 13, under a blazing sun.
Sergei Bubka starts competition at 5M70, which he succeeded on the first try. Two other athletes cleared 5M70 that day, USSR athlete Aleksandr Krupskiy and Frenchman Philippe Collet.
Bubka had a choice for the next bar rise, after a short hesitation he challenges himself and asks for 6M.

On his first try, the bar dropped. On the second try, an almost perfect jump, his chest brushed the bar and it fell. It was on his third attempt that Bubka achieved one of the finest moves in athletics and became the first man to cross the legendary 6-meter bar under the eyes of 5,000 to 8,000 spectators at the Jean Bouin stadium, depending on sources.


6m Pole Vault Serguei BUBKA DIMASPORT Serguei Bubka - 6m pole vault - DIMASPORT Paris

Bubka remembers this moment « I remember raising my finger to show that I was the first, it was a surprise for everyone, myself included. I didn't think I could do it that day in Paris. It was a historical moment and very exciting competition. It was the evening before Bastille Day and it was big news in France – they said it was like Gagarin being the first man to go into space.». *1

Paris on fire, the eve of the national holiday

France has had three Olympic champions in this discipline: Pierre Quinon, Los Angeles 1984 - Jean Galfione, Atlanta 1996 - Renaud Lavillenie, London 2012 and two World Record Holders with Thierry vigneron (5 records) and Renaud Lavillenie.

It should be noted that Bubka will only made 4 jumps in this legendary competition.

For the jump of 6 meters, we report an almost zero wind, a pole of 5M30 with a lever of 5M12. Following the contest, Bubka said, « In France, I feel good. And in Nice, I am ready to take up the challenge of Quinon and Vigneron. I am already thinking of the 6M20 and why not more. But I am especially thinking of Vitaly, my first child born on July 9. It's already 4 days! I dedicate my 6M to him» *3

« On July 13, 1985, Serguei Bubka cleared the 6-meter barrier in the pole vault. »

13 is a lucky number for the Tsar

Bubka broke 4 world records on the 13th of the month (2 indoors, 2 outdoors)
In all, Sergei Bubka set 35 world records between 1984 and 1994 (17 outdoors and 18 indoors). In twenty years of a career at the highest level, he cleared 44 jumps beyond 6 meters. We will also remember that the first 6 meters were cleared in Paris on a Dimasport pole vaulting landing system manufactured a few kilometers away and that Daniel Draux, the founder of Dimasport, attended this great moment and shook hands with Bubka in front of the 6-meter panel.


Serguei Bubka and Daniel DRAUX - 6m pole vault - DIMASPORT Paris Serguei Bubka and Daniel Draux - 6m pole vault - DIMASPORT Paris

Sculpture by Pierre Larauza "July 13, 1985, in Paris"

This historic record has also been immortalized by the sculptor Pierre Larauza. As part of the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad, a life-size representation of the Ukrainian's historic six-meter jump on July 13, 1985, in Paris, will be exhibited at the Carreau du Temple in Paris from June 26 to 30, 2024. A beautiful tribute to this significant moment in the history of athletics.


Sculpture Pierre Larauza

Sources :

*1 Bubka reminisces on 35th anniversary of 'mission impossible' six-metre vault
Brian Pinelli for World Athletics
*3 The newspaper l’Équipe 15/07/1985 :HERE
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