Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault


The men's pole vault was one of four men's jumping events on the athletics program at the 1968 Summer Olympics. The competition had two rounds, qualifying and a final, which were held on 14 and 16 October respectively at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City.

Competition format

The competition consisted of two rounds, qualification and final. In both rounds, each athlete had three attempts at each height and was eliminated from the competition if he failed to clear that height. Athletes could choose to pass onto the next height, although any failed attempts were carried over into that height. The heights increased in increments of five centimetres. Athletes who successfully jumped the qualifying height progressed to the final round. In the event that fewer than twelve athletes cleared that height, the best twelve athletes would progress to the next round.

Schedule

DateTimeRound
Monday, 14 October 1968?Qualifications
Wednesday, 16 October 1968?Finals

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.
World record5.41 m AEcho Summit, United States12 September 1968
Olympic record5.10 mTokyo, Japan17 October 1964

The following new Olympic record was set during this competition:
DateEventAthleteMarkNotes
16 OctoberFinal

5.40OR

Results

Qualifying

Key: OR = Olympic record; o = clear ; – = pass; x = fail; r = retired

Final

Key: OR = Olympic record; o = clear ; – = pass; x = fail; r = retired