Different people do different things

Every four years this amazing thing comes on television called the summer Olympics. Yes, it is fun to watch all of events and cheer for your country, but it is also a good way to see all of the different methods of pole vaulting. Pole vault can be amazing for the fact that just because someone does it different, does not mean they are doing it wrong.

That isn’t the only difference in poles that people have as well. People use different weighted poles so that way they are more or less stiff. If a person is really good at pole vaulting they will use a stiffer pole, causing a more extreme bend and snap in the pole. Basically the stiffer the pole the higher in the air you go. People also have to be careful not to weigh more then what the weight of the pole can carry, for example if a 155 pound person could not use a 150 pound pole or else the pole would break.

One of the main “differences” people have, . For starters a difference could be the brand of poles people use. The three main brands are Gill Essex and Spirit. There isn’t much of difference between brands besides the weight differences. If you have a 160 pound Essex pole, it would be like using a 163 pound Gill pole, and a 170 pound Spirit pole. That is why professionals don’t change brands much because they could want a five pound difference and end up with a fifteen pound difference. All of the weights are approximated differences so it might not be that extreme all the time, but there is a difference.

Another large difference that people tend to have from each other is the how they swing. Theoretically there is no right or wrong way to swing depending on who is talking, but there are three very distinct methods of doing so.

The traditional swing is one that most people are taught, and what most tend to use. It involves a long swing long extending back and a high drive knee. Using the swing leg to propel a vaulter upside down by “kicking” the swing leg forward.

The next most common some people see as a bad thing, but as Armand Duplantis, or Mondo, can prove it isn’t all that bad. The double swing leg starts the exact same as the traditional swing, long swing leg and a drive knee, but instead of using the drive knee and going forward, it is dropped down and used as a second swing leg to get upside down.

The final method is named the tuck and shoot. This method of swinging does exactly as the name would imply, there is a drive knee but no swing leg. After the initial hit both knees get curled up towards the chest, and then shot out upwards to flip upside down.

None of these methods are “wrong”, the traditional is the most popular because it tends to yield the best results. There are always going to be people who use that other two and pole vault amazing, take Mondo for example, he clear 6.05 meters to set a new Under 20 world record.

There will always be differences in the pole vault world, like whether people should use helmets or not; nobody can say there is an exact way of doing it because there is always someone who is really good doing the exact opposite method.