# Men's pole vault world record progression

The first world record in the men's pole vault was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1912.
As of April 20, 2024, 80 world records have been ratified by the IAAF (now World Athletics) in the event. Since 2000, World Athletics makes no distinction between indoor and outdoor settings when establishing pole vault world records. This new rule was not applied retroactively. The introduction in the early 1950s of flexible vaulting poles made from composites such as fiberglass or carbon fiber allowed vaulters to achieve greater height. The present record of 6.27 m (20 ft 6+3⁄4 in) was set by Armand Duplantis, competing for Sweden at the All Star Perche.

## Record progression

* Ratified
* Not ratified
* Ratified but later rescinded
* Pending ratification
| Mark | Athlete | Nation | Venue | Date | # |
| 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in) | Francis Temple | Great Britain | Woolwich | October 6, 1849 | 1 |
| 3.21 m (10 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | Robert Mitchell | Great Britain | London | June 19, 1868 | 1 |
| 3.225 m (10 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | Edwin Woodburn | Great Britain | Newton | August 31, 1872 | 1 |
| 3.225 m (10 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | Edwin Woodburn | Great Britain | Lancaster | June 2, 1873 | 2 |
| 3.225 m (10 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | William Kelsey | Great Britain | Sheffield | July 7, 1873 | 1 |
| 3.225 m (10 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | John Wigfull | Great Britain | Sheffield | July 7, 1873 | 1 |
| 3.225 m (10 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | Edwin Woodburn | Great Britain | London | March 30, 1874 | 3 |
| 3.225 m (10 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | John Wigfull | Great Britain | Sheffield | July 5, 1875 | 2 |
| 3.38 m (11 ft 1 in) | A. Hammond | Great Britain | Bury St.Edmunds | March 30, 1876 | 1 |
| 3.38 m (11 ft 1 in) | Edwin Woodburn | Great Britain | Ulverston | July 21, 1876 | 4 |
| 3.42 m (11 ft 2+1⁄2 in) | Thomas Ray | Great Britain | Ulverston | September 19, 1879 | 1 |
| 3.43 m (11 ft 3 in) | Thomas Ray | Great Britain | Birmingham | July 16, 1881 | 2 |
| 3.455 m (11 ft 4 in) | Thomas Ray | Great Britain | Bradford | August 12, 1882 | 3 |
| 3.455 m (11 ft 4 in) | Thomas Ray | Great Britain | Nottingham | June 16, 1883 | 4 |
| 3.465 m (11 ft 4+1⁄4 in) | Thomas Ray | Great Britain | Preston | August 18, 1883 | 5 |
| 3.48 m (11 ft 5 in) | Thomas Ray | Great Britain | Grasmere | August 20, 1885 | 6 |
| 3.485 m (11 ft 5 in) | Thomas Ray | Great Britain | Whitehaven | August 13, 1886 | 7 |
| 3.505 m (11 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | Thomas Ray | Great Britain | Grasmere | August 18, 1887 | 8 |
| 3.52 m (11 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | Thomas Ray | Great Britain | Whitehaven | August 19, 1887 | 9 |
| 3.53 m (11 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | Ernest Stones | Great Britain | Southport | June 2, 1888 | 1 |
| 3.555 m (11 ft 7+3⁄4 in) | Thomas Ray | Great Britain | Barrow | September 22, 1888 | 10 |
| 3.57 m (11 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Ernest Stones | Great Britain | Grasmere | August 23, 1889 | 2 |
| 3.58 m (11 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | Richard Dickenson | Great Britain | Kidderminster | July 4, 1891 | 1 |
| 3.62 m (11 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Raymond Clapp | United States | Chicago | June 16, 1898 | 1 |
| 3.69 m (12 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | Norman Dole | United States | Berkeley | April 23, 1904 | 1 |
| 3.69 m (12 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | Fernand Gonder | France | Paris | June 26, 1904 | 1 |
| 3.74 m (12 ft 3 in) | Fernand Gonder | France | Gradignan | June 4, 1905 | 2 |
| 3.78 m (12 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Leroy Samse | United States | Chicago | June 2, 1906 | 1 |
| 3.79 m (12 ft 5 in) | Walter Dray | United States | New Haven | May 18, 1907 | 1 |
| 3.82 m (12 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | Walter Dray | United States | Philadelphia | April 25, 1908 | 2 |
| 3.855 m (12 ft 7+3⁄4 in) | Alfred Gilbert | United States | Philadelphia | June 6, 1908 | 1 |
| 3.86 m (12 ft 7+3⁄4 in) | Alfred Gilbert | United States | New Haven | June 12, 1908 | 2 |
| 3.90 m (12 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | Walter Dray | United States | Danbury | June 13, 1908 | 3 |
| 3.91 m (12 ft 9+3⁄4 in) | Leland Scott | United States | Berkeley | April 30, 1910 | 1 |
| 3.93 m (12 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Leland Scott | United States | Boulder | May 27, 1910 | 2 |
| 3.985 m (13 ft 3⁄4 in) | Robert Gardner | United States | Philadelphia | June 1, 1912 | 1 |
| 4.02 m (13 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Marc Wright | United States | Cambridge, U.S. | June 8, 1912 | 1 |
| 4.09 m (13 ft 5 in) | Frank Foss | United States | Antwerp, Belgium | August 20, 1920 | 1 |
| 4.12 m (13 ft 6 in) | Charles Hoff | Norway | Copenhagen, Denmark | September 22, 1922 | 1 |
| 4.21 m (13 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | Charles Hoff | Norway | Copenhagen, Denmark | July 22, 1923 | 2 |
| 4.23 m (13 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Charles Hoff | Norway | Oslo, Norway | August 13, 1925 | 3 |
| 4.25 m (13 ft 11+1⁄4 in) | Charles Hoff | Norway | Turku, Finland | September 27, 1925 | 4 |
| 4.27 m (14 ft 0 in) | Sabin Carr | United States | Philadelphia, U.S. | May 28, 1927 | 1 |
| 4.30 m (14 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | Lee Barnes | United States | Fresno, U.S. | April 28, 1928 | 1 |
| 4.37 m (14 ft 4 in) | William Graber | United States | Palo Alto, U.S. | July 16, 1932 | 1 |
| 4.39 m (14 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Keith Brown | United States | Boston, U.S. | June 1, 1935 | 1 |
| 4.43 m (14 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | George Varoff | United States | Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. | July 4, 1936 | 1 |
| 4.54 m (14 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Bill Sefton | United States | Los Angeles, U.S. | May 29, 1937 | 1 |
| 4.54 m (14 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Earle Meadows | United States | Los Angeles, U.S. | May 29, 1937 | 1 |
| 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in) | Cornelius Warmerdam | United States | Fresno, U.S. | June 29, 1940 | 1 |
| 4.72 m (15 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | Cornelius Warmerdam | United States | Compton, U.S. | June 26, 1941 | 2 |
| 4.77 m (15 ft 7+3⁄4 in) | Cornelius Warmerdam | United States | Modesto, U.S. | May 23, 1942 | 3 |
| 4.78 m (15 ft 8 in) | Robert Gutowski | United States | Palo Alto, U.S. | April 27, 1957 | 1 |
| 4.80 m (15 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | Don Bragg | United States | Palo Alto, U.S. | July 2, 1960 | 1 |
| 4.83 m (15 ft 10 in) | George Davies | United States | Boulder, U.S. | May 20, 1961 | 1 |
| 4.89 m (16 ft 1⁄2 in) | John Uelses | United States | Santa Barbara, U.S. | March 31, 1962 | 1 |
| 4.93 m (16 ft 2 in) | Dave Tork | United States | Walnut, U.S. | April 28, 1962 | 1 |
| 4.94 m (16 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Pentti Nikula | Finland | Kauhava, Finland | June 22, 1962 | 1 |
| 5.00 m (16 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Brian Sternberg | United States | Philadelphia, U.S. | April 27, 1963 | 1 |
| 5.08 m (16 ft 8 in) | Brian Sternberg | United States | Compton, U.S. | June 7, 1963 | 2 |
| 5.13 m (16 ft 9+3⁄4 in) | John Pennel | United States | London, England | August 5, 1963 | 1 |
| 5.20 m (17 ft 1⁄2 in) | John Pennel | United States | Coral Gables, U.S. | August 24, 1963 | 2 |
| 5.23 m (17 ft 1+3⁄4 in) | Fred Hansen | United States | San Diego, U.S. | June 13, 1964 | 1 |
| 5.28 m (17 ft 3+3⁄4 in) | Fred Hansen | United States | Los Angeles, U.S. | July 25, 1964 | 2 |
| 5.32 m (17 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | Bob Seagren | United States | Fresno, U.S. | May 14, 1966 | 1 |
| 5.34 m (17 ft 6 in) | John Pennel | United States | Los Angeles, U.S. | July 23, 1966 | 3 |
| 5.36 m (17 ft 7 in) | Bob Seagren | United States | San Diego, U.S. | June 10, 1967 | 2 |
| 5.38 m (17 ft 7+3⁄4 in) | Paul Wilson | United States | Bakersfield, U.S. | June 23, 1967 | 1 |
| 5.41 m (17 ft 8+3⁄4 in) A | Bob Seagren | United States | Echo Summit, U.S. | September 12, 1968 | 3 |
| 5.44 m (17 ft 10 in) | John Pennel | United States | Sacramento, U.S. | June 21, 1969 | 4 |
| 5.45 m (17 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Wolfgang Nordwig | East Germany | Berlin, Germany | June 17, 1970 | 1 |
| 5.46 m (17 ft 10+3⁄4 in) | Wolfgang Nordwig | East Germany | Turin, Italy | September 3, 1970 | 2 |
| 5.49 m (18 ft 0 in) | Christos Papanikolaou | Greece | Athens, Greece | October 24, 1970 | 1 |
| 5.51 m (18 ft 3⁄4 in) | Kjell Isaksson | Sweden | Austin, U.S. | April 8, 1972 | 1 |
| 5.54 m (18 ft 2 in) | Kjell Isaksson | Sweden | Los Angeles, U.S. | April 15, 1972 | 2 |
| 5.55 m (18 ft 2+1⁄2 in) | Kjell Isaksson | Sweden | Helsingborg, Sweden | June 12, 1972 | 3 |
| 5.63 m (18 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | Bob Seagren | United States | Eugene, U.S. | July 2, 1972 | 4 |
| 5.65 m (18 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | David Roberts | United States | Gainesville, U.S. | March 28, 1975 | 1 |
| 5.67 m (18 ft 7 in) | Earl Bell | United States | Wichita, U.S. | May 29, 1976 | 1 |
| 5.70 m (18 ft 8+1⁄4 in) | David Roberts | United States | Eugene, U.S. | June 22, 1976 | 2 |
| 5.72 m (18 ft 9 in) | Władysław Kozakiewicz | Poland | Milan, Italy | May 11, 1980 | 1 |
| 5.75 m (18 ft 10+1⁄4 in) | Thierry Vigneron | France | Paris, France | June 1, 1980 | 1 |
| 5.75 m (18 ft 10+1⁄4 in) | Thierry Vigneron | France | Lille, France | June 29, 1980 | 2 |
| 5.77 m (18 ft 11 in) | Philippe Houvion | France | Paris, France | July 17, 1980 | 1 |
| 5.78 m (18 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | Władysław Kozakiewicz | Poland | Moscow, Soviet Union | July 30, 1980 | 2 |
| 5.80 m (19 ft 1⁄4 in) | Thierry Vigneron | France | Mâcon, France | June 20, 1981 | 3 |
| 5.81 m (19 ft 1⁄2 in) | Vladimir Polyakov | Soviet Union | Tbilisi, Soviet Union | June 26, 1981 | 1 |
| 5.82 m (19 ft 1 in) | Pierre Quinon | France | Cologne, Germany | August 28, 1983 | 1 |
| 5.83 m (19 ft 1+1⁄2 in) | Thierry Vigneron | France | Rome, Italy | September 1, 1983 | 4 |
| 5.85 m (19 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Bratislava, Czechoslovakia | May 26, 1984 | 1 |
| 5.88 m (19 ft 3+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Paris, France | June 2, 1984 | 2 |
| 5.90 m (19 ft 4+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | London, England | July 13, 1984 | 3 |
| 5.91 m (19 ft 4+1⁄2 in) | Thierry Vigneron | France | Rome, Italy | August 31, 1984 | 5 |
| 5.94 m (19 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Rome, Italy | August 31, 1984 | 4 |
| 6.00 m (19 ft 8 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Paris, France | July 13, 1985 | 5 |
| 6.01 m (19 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Moscow, Soviet Union | July 8, 1986 | 6 |
| 6.03 m (19 ft 9+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Prague, Czechoslovakia | June 23, 1987 | 7 |
| 6.05 m (19 ft 10 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Bratislava, Czechoslovakia | June 9, 1988 | 8 |
| 6.06 m (19 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Nice, France | July 10, 1988 | 9 |
| 6.07 m (19 ft 10+3⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Shizuoka, Japan | May 6, 1991 | 10 |
| 6.08 m (19 ft 11+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Moscow, Soviet Union | June 9, 1991 | 11 |
| 6.09 m (19 ft 11+3⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Formia, Italy | July 8, 1991 | 12 |
| 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in) | Sergey Bubka | Soviet Union | Malmö, Sweden | August 5, 1991 | 13 |
| 6.11 m (20 ft 1⁄2 in) | Sergey Bubka | Ukraine | Dijon, France | June 13, 1992 | 14 |
| 6.12 m (20 ft 3⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Ukraine | Padua, Italy | August 30, 1992 | 15 |
| 6.13 m (20 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | Sergey Bubka | Ukraine | Tokyo, Japan | September 19, 1992 | 16 |
| 6.14 m (20 ft 1+1⁄2 in) A | Sergey Bubka | Ukraine | Sestriere, Italy | July 31, 1994 | 17 |
| 6.16 m (20 ft 2+1⁄2 in) i | Renaud Lavillenie | France | Donetsk, Ukraine | February 15, 2014 | 1 |
| 6.17 m (20 ft 2+3⁄4 in) i | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Toruń, Poland | February 8, 2020 | 1 |
| 6.18 m (20 ft 3+1⁄4 in) i | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Glasgow, UK | February 15, 2020 | 2 |
| 6.19 m (20 ft 3+1⁄2 in) i | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Belgrade, Serbia | March 7, 2022 | 3 |
| 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) i | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Belgrade, Serbia | March 20, 2022 | 4 |
| 6.21 m (20 ft 4+1⁄4 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Eugene, U.S. | July 24, 2022 | 5 |
| 6.22 m (20 ft 4+3⁄4 in) i | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Clermont-Ferrand, France | February 25, 2023 | 6 |
| 6.23 m (20 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Eugene, U.S. | September 17, 2023 | 7 |
| 6.24 m (20 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Xiamen, China | April 20, 2024 | 8 |
| 6.25 m (20 ft 6 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Paris, France | August 5, 2024 | 9 |
| 6.26 m (20 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Chorzów, Poland | August 25, 2024 | 10 |
| 6.27 m (20 ft 6+3⁄4 in) i | Armand Duplantis | Sweden | Clermont-Ferrand, France | February 28, 2025 | 11 |
| Notes: ↑ The numbered occurrence of the athlete breaking the world record, in other words "#7" would indicate the 7th time the athlete broke the world record. ↑ "From 2000, IAAF Rule 260.18s (formerly 260.6.a) was amended to say world records (as opposed to indoor world records) can be set in a facility 'with or without a roof.' So far, only one event - the women's pole vault - has been affected by this change, which was not applied retrospectively." Sergey Bubka set an indoor record of 6.15 m (20 ft 2 in) on February 21, 1993, in excess of the outdoor record, before this rule came into effect. Lavillenie's indoor world record was set after the rule came into effect, and thus since it exceeded Bubka's 6.14 m (20 ft 1+1⁄2 in) set outdoors, it also became the world record, the first indoor mark to do so in this event. ||||||