The men's pole vault event was part of the track and field athletics programme

Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics

At the 1920 Summer Olympics held in Antwerp, 29 athletics events were contested, all for men only. The competitions were held from August 15, 1920 to August 23, 1920.-Medal table:-Medal summary:-Participating nations:...

 at the 1920 Summer Olympics

1920 Summer Olympics

The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....

. The competition was held on Wednesday, August 18, 1920 and on Friday, August 20, 1920.

16 pole vaulters from seven nations competed.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.

World Record	4.02	Marc Wright Marc Wright Marc Wright was an American athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault.He was born in Chicago and died in Reading, Massachusetts....	Cambridge, MA Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...  (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... )	June 8, 1912
Olympic Record	3.95	Harry Babcock Harry Babcock Harry Stoddard Babcock was an American athlete who competed in the men's pole vault. He competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics and won gold.-External links:* on databaseOlympics.com...	Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...  (SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... )	July 11, 1912

At first Frank Foss

Frank Foss (athlete)

Frank Kent Foss was an American athlete who competed in the men's pole vault. He competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics and won gold, beating Danish pole vaulter Henry Petersen. Foss set a world record in winning the event with a height of 4.09 meters, or approximately 13 feet, 5 and 1/8 inches...

set a new Olympic record with 4.00 metres. Then he set a new world record with 4.09 metres.

Results

The qualification was held on August 18, 1920. The qualification height was 3.60. Only three pole vaulters were eliminated. In the final held on August 20, 1920 only seven athletes were able to clear 3.60 metres again. Foss cleared 4.00 metres and also the new world record of 4.09 metres in his third try.

Place	Athlete	Qual.	4.00	4.09	Final
1		3.60	XXO	XXO	4.09 WR
2		3.60			3.70
3		3.60			3.60
4		3.60			3.60
5		3.60			3.60
6		3.60			3.60
7		3.60			3.60
8		3.60			3.50
9		3.60			3.50
10		3.60			3.40
11		3.60			3.40
12		3.60			3.40
13		3.60			3.30
14		3.50			—
—		NM			—
		NM			—