Pole Vault, Men

There were 16 final entries but again only five competitors for the pole vault, which was held on 10 April. The starters were two Americans – Bill Hoyt and Albert Tyler; and three Greeks – Evangelos Damaskos, Ioannis Theodoropoulos, and Vasilios Xydas. Hoyt was the best known vaulter as he had finished third at the 1895 ICAAAA Meet. Missing were America’s world record holder Walter Rodenbaugh and Britain’s five-time AAA champion, Richard Dickinson.

The opening height was 2.40 metres, which was cleared successfully by the three Greeks. Damaskos and Theodoropoulos cleared 2.50 and 2.60 metres before failing at 2.70. Thus, they tied for third. Hoyt and Tyler began vaulting at 2.80 metres, and both cleared each height successfully in 10 centimetre increments through 3.20 metres. At that time, the bar was raised to 3.25 metres and Tyler failed to clear. Hoyt did, and also went over the bar at 3.30 metres to win the championship. This event started while the marathon was being run and was interrupted by the frenzy of the crowd when Louis came into the stadium and won that event.