Men's pole vault world record progression
The first world record in the men's pole vault was recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1912.
As of June 21, 2009, 71 world records have been ratified by the IAAF in the event. The introduction in the early 1950s of flexible vaulting poles made from composites such as fiberglass or carbon fiber allowed vaulters to achieve greater height.
Record progression
| Record | Athlete | Nation | Venue | Date | # |
| Marc Wright | Cambridge, U.S. | June 8, 1912 | 1 | ||
| Frank Foss | Antwerp, Belgium | August 20, 1920 | 1 | ||
| Charles Hoff | Copenhagen, Denmark | September 22, 1922 | 1 | ||
| Charles Hoff | Copenhagen, Denmark | July 22, 1923 | 2 | ||
| Charles Hoff | Oslo, Norway | August 13, 1925 | 3 | ||
| Charles Hoff | Turku, Finland | September 27, 1925 | 4 | ||
| Sabin Carr | Philadelphia, U.S. | May 28, 1927 | 1 | ||
| Lee Barnes | Fresno, U.S. | April 28, 1928 | 1 | ||
| William Graber | Palo Alto, U.S. | July 16, 1932 | 1 | ||
| Keith Brown | Boston, U.S. | June 1, 1935 | 1 | ||
| George Varoff | Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. | July 4, 1936 | 1 | ||
| Bill Sefton | Los Angeles, U.S. | May 29, 1937 | 1 | ||
| Earle Meadows | Los Angeles, U.S. | May 29, 1937 | 1 | ||
| Cornelius Warmerdam | Fresno, U.S. | June 29, 1940 | 1 | ||
| Cornelius Warmerdam | Compton, U.S. | June 26, 1941 | 2 | ||
| Cornelius Warmerdam | Modesto, U.S. | May 23, 1942 | 3 | ||
| Robert Gutowski | Palo Alto, U.S. | April 27, 1957 | 1 | ||
| Don Bragg | Palo Alto, U.S. | July 2, 1960 | 1 | ||
| George Davies | Boulder, U.S. | May 20, 1961 | 1 | ||
| John Uelses | Santa Barbara, U.S. | March 31, 1962 | 1 | ||
| Dave Tork | Walnut, U.S. | April 28, 1962 | 1 | ||
| Pentti Nikula | Kauhava, Finland | June 22, 1962 | 1 | ||
| Brian Sternberg | Philadelphia, U.S. | April 27, 1963 | 1 | ||
| Brian Sternberg | Compton, U.S. | June 7, 1963 | 2 | ||
| John Pennel | London, England | August 5, 1963 | 1 | ||
| John Pennel | Coral Gables, U.S. | August 24, 1963 | 2 | ||
| Fred Hansen | San Diego, U.S. | June 13, 1964 | 1 | ||
| Fred Hansen | Los Angeles, U.S. | July 25, 1964 | 2 | ||
| Bob Seagren | Fresno, U.S. | May 14, 1966 | 1 | ||
| John Pennel | Los Angeles, U.S. | July 23, 1966 | 3 | ||
| Bob Seagren | San Diego, U.S. | June 10, 1967 | 2 | ||
| Paul Wilson | Bakersfield, U.S. | June 23, 1967 | 1 | ||
| A | Bob Seagren | Echo Summit, U.S. | September 12, 1968 | 3 | |
| John Pennel | Sacramento, U.S. | June 21, 1969 | 4 | ||
| Wolfgang Nordwig | Berlin, Germany | June 17, 1970 | 1 | ||
| Wolfgang Nordwig | Turin, Italy | September 3, 1970 | 2 | ||
| Christos Papanikolaou | Athens, Greece | October 24, 1970 | 1 | ||
| Kjell Isaksson | Austin, U.S. | April 8, 1972 | 1 | ||
| Kjell Isaksson | Los Angeles, U.S. | April 15, 1972 | 2 | ||
| Kjell Isaksson | Helsingborg, Sweden | June 12, 1972 | 3 | ||
| Bob Seagren | Eugene, U.S. | July 2, 1972 | 4 | ||
| David Roberts | Gainesville, U.S. | March 28, 1975 | 1 | ||
| Earl Bell | Wichita, U.S. | May 29, 1976 | 1 | ||
| David Roberts | Eugene, U.S. | June 22, 1976 | 2 | ||
| Władysław Kozakiewicz | Milan, Italy | May 11, 1980 | 1 | ||
| Thierry Vigneron | Paris, France | June 1, 1980 | 1 | ||
| Thierry Vigneron | Lille, France | June 29, 1980 | 2 | ||
| Philippe Houvion | Paris, France | July 17, 1980 | 1 | ||
| Władysław Kozakiewicz | Moscow, Soviet Union | July 30, 1980 | 2 | ||
| Thierry Vigneron | Mâcon, France | June 20, 1981 | 3 | ||
| Vladimir Polyakov | Tbilisi, Soviet Union | June 26, 1981 | 1 | ||
| Pierre Quinon | Cologne, Germany | August 28, 1983 | 1 | ||
| Thierry Vigneron | Rome, Italy | September 1, 1983 | 4 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Bratislava, Czechoslovakia | May 26, 1984 | 1 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Paris, France | June 2, 1984 | 2 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | London, England | July 13, 1984 | 3 | ||
| Thierry Vigneron | Rome, Italy | August 31, 1984 | 5 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Rome, Italy | August 31, 1984 | 4 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Paris, France | July 13, 1985 | 5 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Moscow, Soviet Union | June 8, 1986 | 6 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Prague, Czechoslovakia | June 23, 1987 | 7 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Bratislava, Czechoslovakia | June 9, 1988 | 8 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Nice, France | July 10, 1988 | 9 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Shizuoka, Japan | May 6, 1991 | 10 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Moscow, Soviet Union | June 9, 1991 | 11 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Formia, Italy | July 8, 1991 | 12 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Malmö, Sweden | August 5, 1991 | 13 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Dijon, France | June 13, 1992 | 14 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Padua, Italy | August 30, 1992 | 15 | ||
| Sergey Bubka | Tokyo, Japan | September 19, 1992 | 16 | ||
| A | Sergey Bubka | Sestriere, Italy | July 31, 1994 | 17 | |
| i | Renaud Lavillenie | Donetsk, Ukraine | February 15, 2014 | 1 | |
| i r | Armand Duplantis | Torun, Poland | February 8, 2020 | 1 | |
| i r | Armand Duplantis | Glasgow, UK | February 15, 2020 | 2 |
A = mark set at altitude
i = indoor mark
r = pending ratification