T&FN Special: Isi Only One Behind Bubka’s Record Total

How Many Pole Vault World Records?

Yelena Isinbayeva has said she is chasing Sergey Bubka’s total of vaulting records. The problem is, how do you define “record”?

For years the IAAF just had outdoor records.

Then it had indoor and outdoor records.

Then it had indoor records and indoor/outdoor records, then it went back to indoor and outdoor records.

And now we’re back where indoor marks can again count as “absolute” records (but nothing retroactive is taken into account, so even though Bubka has the highest vault ever, made indoors, it’s not the official absolute record).

Ignoring the IAAF machinations, the easiest thing is just to look at history and figure out how many times each athlete recorded the highest vault ever seen, including ties.

By that yardstick (see charts), Bubka has 18 entries, with Isinbayeva’s 17 closing in.

On a purely indoor scale, Bubka leads 18–14, and on purely outdoors his margin is 17–15. Note that Bubka took 10.5 years to accumulate his record collection; Isi got hers in just over 6.

Bubka’s 18 absolute WRs
5.83i=   19-1½   Sergey Bubka   2/10/84
5.85i   19-2¼   Thierry Vigneron   3/04/84
5.85=   19-2¼       Bubka   5/26/84
5.86   19-2¾       Bubka   6/02/84
5.90   19-4¼       Bubka   7/13/84
5.91   19-4¾       Vigneron   8/31/84
5.94   19-5¾       Bubka   8/31/84
6.00   19-8¼       Bubka   7/13/85
6.01   19-8½       Bubka   7/08/86
6.03   19-9¼       Bubka   6/23/87
6.05   19-10¼       Bubka   6/09/88
6.06   19-10½       Bubka   7/10/88
6.08i   19-11¼       Bubka   2/09/91
6.10i   20-0       Bubka   3/15/91
6.11i   20-½       Bubka   3/19/91
6.12i   20-1       Bubka   3/23/91
6.13i   20-1¼       Bubka   2/21/92
6.13=   20-1¼       Bubka   9/19/92
6.14i   20-1¾       Bubka   2/13/93
6.15i   20-2       Bubka   2/21/93

Isinbayeva’s 17 absolute WRs
4.82   15-9¾   Yelena Isinbayeva   7/13/03
4.83i   15-10       Isinbayeva   2/15/04
4.85i   15-11   Svetlana Feofanova   2/20/04
4.86i   15-11¼       Isinbayeva   3/06/04
4.87   15-11¾       Isinbayeva   6/27/04
4.88   16-0       Feofanova   7/04/04
4.89   16-½       Isinbayeva   7/25/04
4.90   16-¾       Isinbayeva   7/30/04
4.91   16-1¼       Isinbayeva   8/24/04
4.92   16-1¾       Isinbayeva   9/03/04
4.93   16-2       Isinbayeva   7/05/05
4.95   16-2¾       Isinbayeva   7/16/05
4.96!   16-3¼       Isinbayeva   7/22/05
5.00   16-4¾       Isinbayeva   7/22/05
5.01   16-5¼       Isinbayeva   8/12/05
5.03   16-6       Isinbayeva   7/11/08
5.04   16-6½       Isinbayeva   7/29/08
5.05   16-6       Isinbayeva   8/18/08
5.06   16-7¼       Isinbayeva   8/28/09