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Hello,

I was just wondering whether short people, namely a 15 year old 5 foot 2 inch 100 pound girl, could become good pole vaulters. Is a short stature an advantage or a disadvantage? Would it be extremely difficult for short people to do well at this sport?

Thank you in advance!

It is a bit of a disadvantage, but many girls your height and shorter have gone on to achieve great things in the sport. Pole vault is a lot of technique, so if you work really hard at it, you can eventually surpass those who do not.

Good speed and strenght can make up for some of your "limitations" however if you want to do it and love it, go for it. There have been some great vaulters wo have been "short". Two years ago there was a gal in Florida who was about your size and she jumped 12'9" in high school..............pretty darn good! Best wishes

The mechanics of pole vaulting accommodates all heights of athletes. Having written that, a shorter individual with good technique might be a better vaulter than a taller person. Which would be considered the most important technique of vaulting? Most informed people will say high hands at takeoff which would be hard to argue against. However, once an individual has left the ground, it is important to invert as quickly as possible to cover the pole while it is still somewhat flexed. Considering physics...........what rotates faster .......a long or short radius? World class gymnasts know the answer to this question; think of their average heights. In a book first copyrighted in 1954 titled "Mechanics of the Pole Vault" by Dr. Richard Ganslen, it suggests this very notion of a faster rotation by shorter individuals. We can disagree on many points, but one cannot argue with physics. Oh, and by the way, Dr. Ganslen also wrote in his book that women should be pole vaulting soon. Took awhile, but he was absolutely right. It is this coaches belief that women have been the best thing to happen to pole vaulting. Less grunting with more focus on better technique.

I've noticed people who are shorter have a better technique because they need one. I know a girl who is 4'11 and her PR is 10'6" (she is still in highschool). so obviously if someone who is short is athletic enough, they can be a good pole vaulter