Vaulting your age

[oldvaulter]

At today's California State Meet, the boy's pole vault was won by Ryan Shuler at 16'. The height was not exceptional for a state champion, but what is exceptional is that Shuler is only a ninth grader. I don't know for sure, but I expect this would be a freshman class record.

I read one article about Shuler that said he was sixteen years old. That's old for a ninth grader, so I wondered if that was correct, and if it is, why he's still in ninth grade. However, vaulting one's age -- sixteen feet at age sixteen in this case -- is still quite rare.

The first vaulter ever to vault his age was Paul Wilson in 1964, when he vaulted sixteen feet at age sixteen as a high school junior. Since then, others have accomplished this feat also, but I was wondering about:

1) Who is the youngest vaulter ever to vault his age?

2) Who is the oldest vaulter ever to vault his age?

3) Which vaulter has exceeded his age by the largest margin? How much?

I don't know the answers to these questions, so please let me know if you know, or if you know where to find out.

[gm]

the freshman class record is 16-3.25 by Jayson Lavender

the age-16 record is 17-0.75 by Lavender

[oldvaulter]

Thanks -- yes, now I remember Lavender. Is there a place on the internet which posts age records? I have an old age record listing which covers all events and all ages (from as young as eleven or twelve years old in some cases, to as old as ninety and above), but it was published in 1958, so it's a bit out of date, to say the least.

[oldvaulter]

I just found this, from 2001. Besides being two years old, I'm not sure if it was complete at the time it was posted, but it's interesting:

Maksim Tarasov, Russia, 19'0 1/4", age 19 '89
Maksim Tarasov, Russia, 18'4 1/2", age 18 '88
Maksim Tarasov, Russia, 17'8 1/2", age 17 '87
Maksim Tarasov, Russia, 16'4 3/4", age 16 '86
Lars Borgeling, Germany, 18'0 1/2", age 18 '98
Lars Borgeling, Germany, 17'1", age 17 '97
Paul Burgess, Australia, 18'1", age 18 '97
Paul Burgess, Australia, 17'6 3/4", age 17 '96
Paul Burgess, Australia, 17'2 3/4", age 16 '95
Jean Galfione, France, 18'0 1/2", age 18, '89
Radion Gataullin, Russia, 18'2 1/2", age 18, '83
Radion Gataullin, Russia, 17'0 3/4", age 17, '82
Eric Eshbach, Orangefield TX, 18'2 1/2", age 18 '99
Eric Eshbach, Orangefield TX, 17'0", age 17 '98
Jon Henly, Orangefield TX, 17'0", age 17 '98
Jacob Davis, Orangefield TX, 19'4 1/4", age 19 '98
Jacob Davis, Orangefield TX, 18'6 1/2", age 18 '97
Jacob Davis, Orangefield TX, 17'0 1/2", age 17 '96
Jacob Davis, Orangefield TX, 17'6", age 16 '95
Jacob Davis, Orangefield TX, 15'6", age 15 '94
Scooter Hesseltine, Refugio TX, 14'6", age 14 '86
Jayson Lavender, Wichita Falls TX, 17'2", age 17 '89
Mason Findesen, Yoakum TX, 14'6", age 14 '01
Mason Findesen, Yoakum TX, 14'0", age 13 '00
Mark Buse, Holland IN, 15'3", age 15 '88
Tommy Skipper, OR, 16'6", age 15 or 16 '00

[Zorro King]

There are several lists for both European Age Records and International Age Records.
I've found 2 lists.
International Age-Records:
http://62.116.49.180/age-records/

European Age-Records:
http://people.freenet.de/athletics/

X King

[Guest]

You can chalk Mason Findesen down for 16'0" as a 16 year old last year. I think he can have a shot at 17' this summer as a 17 year old. The refurbishing of his school's track wasn't completed until two weeks before the district track meet, so he's only been vaulting this season since April, but still won 3A state with 15'6". Looks pretty rusty still.

[vaulter83]

Jacob Davis did it every year from 15-19 years old.
15 15'6
16 17'6
17 17'3
18 18'6 1/2 (college frosh)
19 19'4 1/4

i believe Eshbach may have still been 17 (barely) when he jumped 18'2 1/4". He also has 17'3" as a 17, maybe 16, yr old the previous season.

Henly 17 17'3"

Mark Buse 15 15'3"...capping 15'9s" finished with a PR around 18'6".

Galfione 18 18'0 1/2"...96 OG champ

Sebastien Homo 16 17'6 3/4" (still his PR 4 years later)

Christian Linskey 16 16-10 3/4 (PR of 17-0 3/4 6 years later)

Mason Findeisen 15 (barely) 16'0" this season, 14 (barely) 14'6", 13 (barely) 13'6"

Jayson Lavender 16 16'+ 17 17'2", 17-10 1/2 all-time quite as a sophmore in college to play football instead.

Kelly STevens 14 15'6" (all-time world age best at the time in...'99? or '00 can't remember) All-time PR only 15'7" however.

Not sure about his age:
Casey Carrigan
1966 Grade 9 14'6.25
1967 Grade 10 15’8”
1968 Grade 11 16’8.25
1969 Grade 12 17’4.75

Max tarasov 19' at 19 yrs
Lawrence Johnson 18'8 @19
Rodion Guataullin 18'2 at 18
Viktor Chistiakov 18'8 at 19

Could list some more if anybody really wants to know.

[polevaultpower]

In an old article on Casey Carrigan, his brother, Andy, says that Casey jumped his age from age 8 to 17!

[oldvaulter]

>In an old article on Casey Carrigan, his brother,
>Andy, says that Casey jumped his age from age 8
>to 17!

If some of those vaults in his earlier years were in competition, he may have pre-dated Wilson as the first to jump his age.

In searching some age-record lists today, I found this listing (doesn't include all countries):

Boys:

7 2.21 7- 3 Tobie Hatfield USA 9 Oct 61 Eugene OR 2 Aug 69
8 2.44 8- 0 Tobie Hatfield USA 9 Oct 61 Eugene OR 70
9 2.74 9- 0 Tobie Hatfield USA 9 Oct 61 Halsey OR 2 Jun 71
10 3.00 9-10 Petri Peltoniemi FIN 6 Mar 70 Haukipudas 14 Aug 80
11 3.30 10-10 Petri Peltoniemi FIN 6 Mar 70 81
3.30 10-10 Gustav Hultgren SWE 18 Aug 83 Karlskrona 2 Jul 95
12 3.81 12- 6 Paul Schwaegler USA 5 Oct 61 Cheney WA 29 Jun 74
13 4.30 14- 1 1/4 István Bagyula HUN 2 Jan 69 Budapest 4 Sep 82
4.30 14- 1 1/4 Thomas Cornu FRA 82 Bourgoin-Jallieu 25 Sep 95
14 4.72 15- 5 3/4 Christian Linskey GBR 14 Jun 80 Sheffield 10 Jun 95
4.72 15- 6 Kelly Stephens USA 85 San Marcos TX 6 May 00
15 5.33 17- 6 Jacob Davis USA 29 Apr 78 Orangefield TX 12 Apr 94
16 5.40 17- 8 1/2 Maksim Tarasov RUS 2 Dec 70 Havana 21 Aug 87
5.40 17- 8 1/2 Gérald Baudouin FRA 15 Nov 72 St-Denis 15 Oct 89
17 5.60 18- 4 1/2 Maksim Tarasov RUS 2 Dec 70 Sudbury 28 Jul 88
5.60 18- 4 1/2 Maksim Tarasov RUS 2 Dec 70 Odessa 20 Aug 88
18 5.80 19- 0 1/4 Maksim Tarasov RUS 2 Dec 70 Bryansk 14 Jul 89
19 5.90 19- 4 1/4 Jacob Davis USA 29 Apr 78 Austin TX 4 Apr 98

Girls:

7 1.62 5- 3 3/4 Annika Roloff GER 10 Mar 91 Holzminden 15 Jul 98
8 2.35 7- 8 1/2 Liz Parnov AUS 9 May 94 Perth 16 Mar 03
9 2.35 7- 8 1/2 Liz Parnov AUS 9 May 94 Perth 16 Mar 03
10 2.50 8- 2 1/2 Lisa Ryshich GER 27 Sep 88 Bellheim 5 Sep 99
11 3.05 10- 0 Vicky Parnov AUS 24 Oct 90 Perth 2 Jan 02
12 3.60 11- 9 3/4 Vicky Parnov AUS 24 Oct 90 Runaway Bay 12 Apr 03
13 3.92 12-10 1/4 Lisa Ryshich GER 27 Sep 88 Rehlingen 3 Sep 02
14 4.01 13- 1 3/4 Lisa Ryshich GER 27 Sep 88 Wörth 24 May 03
15 4.10i 13- 5 1/2 Floé Kühnert GER 6 Mar 84 Sindelfingen 13 Feb 00
16 4.31 14- 1 3/4 Monika Götz GER 15 Jun 81 Troisdorf 9 May 98
17 4.45i 14- 7 1/4 Yelena Isinbayeva RUS 3 Jun 82 Volgograd 4 Feb 00
18 4.47i 14- 8 Yelena Isinbayeva RUS 3 Jun 82 Budapest 10 Feb 01
19 4.55 14-11 1/4 Annika Becker GER 12 Nov 81 Stuttgart 1 Jul 01
4.55i 14-11 1/4 Yelena Isinbayeva RUS 3 Jun 82 Sindelfingen

According to this list, no girl has yet vaulted her age, but some have come very close!