One event, each day, to help make sense of the Olympics.
Folkloric accounts of competitive pole vaulting date back to 1829 BC, but in those days it was all to do with distance. After all, it resembled the measures Celtic farmers took to leap over bodies of water without going for an unintended swim. But in our post-agrarian society, it’s about height. The vaulter takes a 17ft fibreglass pole, holding one hand near the top and the other about a shoulder-width below. They sprint down the runway, carrying the pole in an upright position. They push the bottom end of the pole into the plant box, swinging their body up into the air and into a U-shape. The vaulter shoots their legs upwards before turning 180 degrees and letting go of the pole. Then the mission is to get the rest of the body over the bar, without disturbance, and onto the foam rubber mat below. The best can vault 20 feet, which would clear a giraffe.
