John Pennel
Encyclopedia
John Thomas Pennel was an American
pole vault
er, and four-time world record
holder.
When Robert Gardner became the first man to clear 13 feet in 1912 many people thought the pole vault limit was close at hand. It was nothing of the sort, of course, but progress was painfully slow – about one inch per year on average. Sabin Carr
was the first man over 14 feet in 1927 and the Californian Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam
was the pioneer over 15 feet in 1940, using a bamboo pole. Twenty-two years elapsed before a man sailed over 16 feet in the shape of German-born American John Uelses
. But with the help of technology in the form of fiberglass
vaulting poles it wasn't long before seventeen feet was cleared by 23-year-old John Pennel.
A native of Memphis, Tennessee
, Pennel started pole vaulting at his father's farm with an old television aerial. At Coral Gables High School
, where he was a member of both the gymnastics
and the athletics teams, he cleared 11 feet 3 inches (3.43 m) at the age of 15. Improving steadily under the coaching of Ed Injachock he improved to 3.80 m in 1958 and in 1959 he ranked 8th among American schoolboys with 4.14 m (13 ft 7 in). At one time he also held the Dade County (Florida)
record for climbing a 20-foot rope in 4.2 seconds.
In 1959 Pennel went to Northeast Louisiana State College
(NLSC) on a track scholarship and continued to improve, clearing 4.32 m (14 ft 2 in) in 1959, and then his big breakthrough came at a meet at Chatanooga
on March 19, 1960. Off a dirt runway and using a borrowed aluminium
pole he cleared 4.58 m, just a quarter of an inch over fifteen feet and a national record for a college freshman
. Unable to reproduce that sort of form outdoors his best for the remainder of the season was 4.39 m (14 ft. 5"). He cleared 4.47 m (14 ft 8 in) in 1961 before switching to the new fiberglass poles and within a very few months began to reap the benefits; on the last day of the year he went over fifteen feet again (4.61 m) in New Orleans and improved to 4.67 m (15 ft. 4") indoors on January 12, 1962, but again failed to repeat his form outdoors that season.
Early in 1963, by which time he is being coached by Bob Groseclose, he cleared sixteen feet in training but was turned down by meeting promoters on the grounds that he wasn't good enough. He travelled to Toronto
to prove himself and in his only major indoor meet of the season cleared 4.75 m (15 ft. 7¼") for second place. Outdoors, he started off with 4.80 m (15 ft. 9") and the following week, on March 23, 1963, the man who was not good enough for an indoor meet exceeded the existing world record of 4.94 m with a 4.95 m (16 ft 3") jump at home in Memphis. He did it again the following month with a 4.98 m jump, but neither mark was ratified as a world record. Nineteen-year-old Brian Sternberg
had the honor of being the world's first 5.00-metre vaulter in Philadelphia on April 27, 1963. Interviewed afterwards he said,
"I don't expect the record to stand a long time", and he was right. Just four days later Pennel surpassed the record with a 5.05 m (16 ft 6¾") leap at Monroe, Louisiana
, but, again, his mark was not ratified.
Again at Monroe on May 4, 4.88 m (16 ft 0 in) was enough for first place but on the same day at San Jose
American Jeff Chase vaulted 8.74 m (28 ft 8 in); not to worry, they were vaulting for distance, not height. The following weekend decathlete and future world record holder Yang Chuan-kwang
became the first man to vault sixteen feet and lose, being beaten by Ron Morris at a meet in Fresno, California
. By the end of the month of May there were no less than ten men worldwide over sixteen feet and eight of them were Americans; the other "foreigner" was the Finnish
athlete Pentti Nikula
, who held the world record Sternberg had broken in April, and Sternberg had equalled Pennel's "world record" at the Modesto
relays on May 25. But this was not ratified as a world record. However, Sternberg got his second and final world record at Compton, California
on June 7, clearing 5.08 m (16 ft 8 in), and found 5.00 m (16 ft. 4¾") enough to take the NCAA at Albuquerque the following week with Cruz, Cramer, Hansen and Watson in that order all on 4.82 m (15 ft. 9¾"), and strangely he also found 4.98 m (16 ft. 4") sufficient to take the AAU
title in
St. Louis a week later with Pennel back in sixth place on 4.80m (15 ft. 9"), (the same weekend that Bob Hayes
ran the first legal 9.1 s 100 yards).
Despite his poor showing in recent weeks Pennel was selected to join the squad that toured Europe
that summer, so on Friday July 13 while Ron Hill
was busy breaking the Commonwealth
10,000 m record Pennel was at the White City Stadium
in London
qualifying for the AAA Championships, which he did with ease. The following day he came back for what Mel Watman called a "superlative display" of
pole vaulting. Entering the competition at 4.46 m (14 ft. 7½") he cleared first time but needed three tries at 4.57 m (15 ft. 0"), clearing on the third try by "at least eighteen inches". Further attempts were hampered by the three-mile track race being in progress so he had to time his run-up, which started on the track, quite carefully. He cleared both 4.72 m (15 ft. 6") and 4.87 m (16 ft. 0") first time. His first two attempts at the new world record 5.10m (16 ft. 8¾") were aborted as he mis-timed his approach, but on the third try he planted firmly and sailed over. But, again, the mark was not ratified as a world record. He had three attempts at 5.19 m (17ft. 0¼") but they didn't come to anything. By now there were thirteen men over sixteen feet and the race was to be the first over seventeen feet. Tragically, Sternberg was no longer in the race. On June 29 while practising a double-back somersault with a twist on the trampoline
at college, something he had done hundreds of times before, he landed hard on his neck and was paralysed from the neck down. When told of Pennel's new "world record" the modest Sternberg, who turned 20 just eleven days before his accident said, "I really think it's great about Pennel. He's the most deserving of all of us to represent the United States at Moscow. I don't know of anybody who has tried harder and put more into vaulting than Pennel."
The Americans won the match in Moscow
by a mere five points, which Athletics Weekly reported as a "disaster", and Pennel came second in the vault behind Uelses with both of them well below their best. But in Warsaw
they "crushed" Poland
and Pennel was described as the "star
performer" in duplicating his White City world record height, though a language difficulty meant he actually thought he was attempting a new record height of 5.14 m (16 ft. 10¼"). Nikulu (the only European so far over 16 feet) failed to impress at the Finnish Championships in Helsinki
on July 17, clearing only 4.85 m (15ft. 11") but on July 25 at Karhula the American Ron Morriss set a personal best of 4.92 m (16 ft. 1¾") and three days later at Haapavesi
he improved again to 5.00 m (16 ft. 4¾") Then on August 9 the German
Wolfgang Reinhardt
joined the sixteen-foot club in winning the West German
Championships at Augsburg
.
Back in London on August 5, Pennel finally set a mark that would be ratified as a world record, improving on Sternberg's 5.08 m. He improved the world record, this time clearing 5.13 m (16 ft. 10") and a few days later on 25 August Morris, still in Finland but now at Mikkeli
, moved to third on the all-time list with a vault 5.02 m (16 ft. 5¾"). The previous day, however, at Coral Gables, Florida
, using a pole he had borrowed from fellow vaulter Fred Hansen back in March, Pennel had cleared 5.20 m (17ft. 0¾") at his first attempt and just eighteen months after the world's first 16-foot vault he became the world's first 17-foot pole vaulter. The world would have to wait seven years before anyone cleared 18 feet (5.48 m).
Following those amazing performances, Pennel won the 1963 Sullivan Award
as the nation's top amateur athlete and was favored to capture the gold medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Unfortunately, he suffered a back injury six weeks before the Games and finished 11th, with a height of 15-5. American teammate Fred Hansen
set an Olympic record with a vault of 16-8¾ and won the Gold medal.
After the Olympics, Hansen vaulted an unratified 17-3¾, and Bob Seagren
set the mark at 17–5 two years later. Following Seagren’s performance, Pennel reclaimed the record at 17–6 (5.34 m) in 1966, his third ratified world record. Pennel was favored to win an Olympic gold in Mexico City in 1968, but he finished 5th. Seagren won the gold instead.
In 1969, Pennel set his fourth and final world record, 17–10¼ (5.44 m). A series of injuries led him to retire from competition in 1970.
After his pole vaulting career, Pennel worked in marketing for Adidas and other companies. He also appeared in television commercials.
In the early 1990s, he was diagnosed with stomach and liver cancer and died at age 53.
Pennel was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2004.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pole vault
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
er, and four-time world record
World records in athletics
World records in the sport of athletics are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking....
holder.
When Robert Gardner became the first man to clear 13 feet in 1912 many people thought the pole vault limit was close at hand. It was nothing of the sort, of course, but progress was painfully slow – about one inch per year on average. Sabin Carr
Sabin Carr
Sabin William Carr was an American athlete who competed in the men's pole vault. He competed in Athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and won gold....
was the first man over 14 feet in 1927 and the Californian Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam
Cornelius Warmerdam
Cornelius Warmerdam was a long time pole vault world record holder and is considered to be among the all time greatest vaulters....
was the pioneer over 15 feet in 1940, using a bamboo pole. Twenty-two years elapsed before a man sailed over 16 feet in the shape of German-born American John Uelses
John Uelses
John Uelses is a retired American pole vaulter and Corporal in the United States Marine Corps who graduated from La Salle University in Philadelphia in 1965. He was the first person to ever pole vault 16' he held the world record in the pole vault for a short time with his personal best of 4.89 m...
. But with the help of technology in the form of fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
vaulting poles it wasn't long before seventeen feet was cleared by 23-year-old John Pennel.
A native of Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Pennel started pole vaulting at his father's farm with an old television aerial. At Coral Gables High School
Coral Gables High School
Coral Gables Senior High School is a secondary school located at 450 Bird Road in Coral Gables, Florida, USA.Coral Gables SHS opened its doors in 1950; its architectural design reflects a Spanish influence with its open courtyards adorned with water fountains...
, where he was a member of both the gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
and the athletics teams, he cleared 11 feet 3 inches (3.43 m) at the age of 15. Improving steadily under the coaching of Ed Injachock he improved to 3.80 m in 1958 and in 1959 he ranked 8th among American schoolboys with 4.14 m (13 ft 7 in). At one time he also held the Dade County (Florida)
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
record for climbing a 20-foot rope in 4.2 seconds.
In 1959 Pennel went to Northeast Louisiana State College
University of Louisiana at Monroe
The University of Louisiana at Monroe is a coeducational public university in Monroe, Louisiana and part of the University of Louisiana System.-History:...
(NLSC) on a track scholarship and continued to improve, clearing 4.32 m (14 ft 2 in) in 1959, and then his big breakthrough came at a meet at Chatanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
on March 19, 1960. Off a dirt runway and using a borrowed aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
pole he cleared 4.58 m, just a quarter of an inch over fifteen feet and a national record for a college freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
. Unable to reproduce that sort of form outdoors his best for the remainder of the season was 4.39 m (14 ft. 5"). He cleared 4.47 m (14 ft 8 in) in 1961 before switching to the new fiberglass poles and within a very few months began to reap the benefits; on the last day of the year he went over fifteen feet again (4.61 m) in New Orleans and improved to 4.67 m (15 ft. 4") indoors on January 12, 1962, but again failed to repeat his form outdoors that season.
Early in 1963, by which time he is being coached by Bob Groseclose, he cleared sixteen feet in training but was turned down by meeting promoters on the grounds that he wasn't good enough. He travelled to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
to prove himself and in his only major indoor meet of the season cleared 4.75 m (15 ft. 7¼") for second place. Outdoors, he started off with 4.80 m (15 ft. 9") and the following week, on March 23, 1963, the man who was not good enough for an indoor meet exceeded the existing world record of 4.94 m with a 4.95 m (16 ft 3") jump at home in Memphis. He did it again the following month with a 4.98 m jump, but neither mark was ratified as a world record. Nineteen-year-old Brian Sternberg
Brian Sternberg
Brian Sternberg is a former world record holder in the Men's Pole vault. He set one of his records on May 25, 1963, in Modesto, California jumping 16 feet, 7 inches using a new technology fiberglass pole...
had the honor of being the world's first 5.00-metre vaulter in Philadelphia on April 27, 1963. Interviewed afterwards he said,
"I don't expect the record to stand a long time", and he was right. Just four days later Pennel surpassed the record with a 5.05 m (16 ft 6¾") leap at Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, but, again, his mark was not ratified.
Again at Monroe on May 4, 4.88 m (16 ft 0 in) was enough for first place but on the same day at San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
American Jeff Chase vaulted 8.74 m (28 ft 8 in); not to worry, they were vaulting for distance, not height. The following weekend decathlete and future world record holder Yang Chuan-kwang
Yang Chuan-Kwang
Yang Chuan-kwang, or C.K. Yang , was an Olympic decathlete from the Republic of China....
became the first man to vault sixteen feet and lose, being beaten by Ron Morris at a meet in Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
. By the end of the month of May there were no less than ten men worldwide over sixteen feet and eight of them were Americans; the other "foreigner" was the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
athlete Pentti Nikula
Pentti Nikula
Pentti Nikula is a retired Finnish pole vaulter. During his career he won the European Championships and held the world record.-See also:*Men's pole vault world record progression...
, who held the world record Sternberg had broken in April, and Sternberg had equalled Pennel's "world record" at the Modesto
Modesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
relays on May 25. But this was not ratified as a world record. However, Sternberg got his second and final world record at Compton, California
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. The city is considered part of the South side by residents of Los...
on June 7, clearing 5.08 m (16 ft 8 in), and found 5.00 m (16 ft. 4¾") enough to take the NCAA at Albuquerque the following week with Cruz, Cramer, Hansen and Watson in that order all on 4.82 m (15 ft. 9¾"), and strangely he also found 4.98 m (16 ft. 4") sufficient to take the AAU
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
title in
St. Louis a week later with Pennel back in sixth place on 4.80m (15 ft. 9"), (the same weekend that Bob Hayes
Bob Hayes
Robert Lee "Bullet Bob" Hayes was an Olympic sprinter turned American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University...
ran the first legal 9.1 s 100 yards).
Despite his poor showing in recent weeks Pennel was selected to join the squad that toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
that summer, so on Friday July 13 while Ron Hill
Ron Hill
Ronald "Ron" Hill, MBE, BSc, PhD , is a noted runner and founder of Ron Hill and Hilly Clothing Company. Hill was born in Accrington, Lancashire, England. He was the second man to break 2:10 in the marathon; he set world records at four other distances, but never laid claim to the marathon world...
was busy breaking the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
10,000 m record Pennel was at the White City Stadium
White City Stadium
White City Stadium was built in White City, London, for the 1908 Summer Olympics, often seen as the precursor to the modern seater stadium and noted for hosting the finish of the first modern distance marathon. It also hosted speedway and a match at the 1966 World Cup, before the stadium was...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
qualifying for the AAA Championships, which he did with ease. The following day he came back for what Mel Watman called a "superlative display" of
pole vaulting. Entering the competition at 4.46 m (14 ft. 7½") he cleared first time but needed three tries at 4.57 m (15 ft. 0"), clearing on the third try by "at least eighteen inches". Further attempts were hampered by the three-mile track race being in progress so he had to time his run-up, which started on the track, quite carefully. He cleared both 4.72 m (15 ft. 6") and 4.87 m (16 ft. 0") first time. His first two attempts at the new world record 5.10m (16 ft. 8¾") were aborted as he mis-timed his approach, but on the third try he planted firmly and sailed over. But, again, the mark was not ratified as a world record. He had three attempts at 5.19 m (17ft. 0¼") but they didn't come to anything. By now there were thirteen men over sixteen feet and the race was to be the first over seventeen feet. Tragically, Sternberg was no longer in the race. On June 29 while practising a double-back somersault with a twist on the trampoline
Trampoline
A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a steel frame using many coiled springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes....
at college, something he had done hundreds of times before, he landed hard on his neck and was paralysed from the neck down. When told of Pennel's new "world record" the modest Sternberg, who turned 20 just eleven days before his accident said, "I really think it's great about Pennel. He's the most deserving of all of us to represent the United States at Moscow. I don't know of anybody who has tried harder and put more into vaulting than Pennel."
The Americans won the match in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
by a mere five points, which Athletics Weekly reported as a "disaster", and Pennel came second in the vault behind Uelses with both of them well below their best. But in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
they "crushed" Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Pennel was described as the "star
performer" in duplicating his White City world record height, though a language difficulty meant he actually thought he was attempting a new record height of 5.14 m (16 ft. 10¼"). Nikulu (the only European so far over 16 feet) failed to impress at the Finnish Championships in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
on July 17, clearing only 4.85 m (15ft. 11") but on July 25 at Karhula the American Ron Morriss set a personal best of 4.92 m (16 ft. 1¾") and three days later at Haapavesi
Haapavesi
Haapavesi is a town and a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
he improved again to 5.00 m (16 ft. 4¾") Then on August 9 the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Wolfgang Reinhardt
Wolfgang Reinhardt
Wolfgang Reinhardt was a West German athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault.He competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan in the pole vault where he won the silver medal....
joined the sixteen-foot club in winning the West German
Championships at Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
.
Back in London on August 5, Pennel finally set a mark that would be ratified as a world record, improving on Sternberg's 5.08 m. He improved the world record, this time clearing 5.13 m (16 ft. 10") and a few days later on 25 August Morris, still in Finland but now at Mikkeli
Mikkeli
Mikkeli is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
, moved to third on the all-time list with a vault 5.02 m (16 ft. 5¾"). The previous day, however, at Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
, using a pole he had borrowed from fellow vaulter Fred Hansen back in March, Pennel had cleared 5.20 m (17ft. 0¾") at his first attempt and just eighteen months after the world's first 16-foot vault he became the world's first 17-foot pole vaulter. The world would have to wait seven years before anyone cleared 18 feet (5.48 m).
Following those amazing performances, Pennel won the 1963 Sullivan Award
Sullivan Award
Sullivan Award may refer to:* Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award or Mary Mildred Sullivan Award; awarded at 29-grantee institutions of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation...
as the nation's top amateur athlete and was favored to capture the gold medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Unfortunately, he suffered a back injury six weeks before the Games and finished 11th, with a height of 15-5. American teammate Fred Hansen
Fred Hansen
Frederick Morgan "Fred" Hansen is an American former athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault....
set an Olympic record with a vault of 16-8¾ and won the Gold medal.
After the Olympics, Hansen vaulted an unratified 17-3¾, and Bob Seagren
Bob Seagren
Robert "Bob" Seagren was an American pole vaulter, the 1968 Olympic champion.A native of Pomona, California, Bob Seagren was one of the world's top pole vaulters in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He won six National AAU and four NCAA titles indoors and outdoors. Indoors he posted eight world...
set the mark at 17–5 two years later. Following Seagren’s performance, Pennel reclaimed the record at 17–6 (5.34 m) in 1966, his third ratified world record. Pennel was favored to win an Olympic gold in Mexico City in 1968, but he finished 5th. Seagren won the gold instead.
In 1969, Pennel set his fourth and final world record, 17–10¼ (5.44 m). A series of injuries led him to retire from competition in 1970.
After his pole vaulting career, Pennel worked in marketing for Adidas and other companies. He also appeared in television commercials.
In the early 1990s, he was diagnosed with stomach and liver cancer and died at age 53.
Pennel was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2004.