Christos Papanikolaou (Greek: Χρήστος Παπανικολάου, born 25 November 1941) is a retired Greek pole vaulter. On 25 October 1970, he set the world record at 5.49 m (18 ft 0 in), significant to Americans as the first man to pole vault 18 feet. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and finished in 18th, 4th and 11th place, respectively.[1] He won a silver medal at the 1966 European Championships. He was a two-time champion at the Mediterranean Games. He was named the Greek Athlete of the Year, for the years 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1970.
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 25 November 1941 Trikala, Greece | |||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Country |  Greece | |||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
| Event | Pole vault | |||||||||||
| Club | GS Trikalon, Panathinaikos | |||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
| Highest world ranking | 1st | |||||||||||
| Personal best | 5.49 m (1970) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
editAt a young age Papanikolaou joined the Sports Club of Trikala. After completing his high school he enrolled to the Sports Academy of Athens. While in Athens, he joined Panathinaikos.
His greatest ever championship achievements only came when he won the silver medal at the 1966 European Championships and finished fourth at the 1968 Summer Olympics.[1]
Papanikolaou trained in the United States at San Jose State College and was part of their 1969 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship team coached by Lloyd (Bud) Winter.[2] At the 1970 Universiade in Turin, Papanikolaou finished second behind Wolfgang Nordwig, who won the event with a new world record of 5.46 metres. On 24 October the same year Papanikolaou jumped 5.49 metres in Athens to set a new world record.[3][4] The vault was featured on the November 1970 cover of Track and Field News.[5] The record was later beaten by Swede Kjell Isaksson on 8 April 1972.[6]
Papanikolaou was ranked by Track and Field News among the top ten pole vaulters a total of seven times between 1966 and 1972, more than any other Greek athlete. His highest position was second in 1970.[7]
Achievements
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | European Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | 5.05 |
| 1967 | Mediterranean Games | Tunis, Tunisia | 1st | 5.15 CR |
| 1968 | Olympic Games | Mexico City, Mexico | 4th | 5.35 |
| 1970 | Universiade | Turin, Italy | 2nd | 5.42 |
| 1971 | Mediterranean Games | İzmir, Turkey | 1st | 5.20 CR |
| 1972 | Olympic Games | Munich, West Germany | 11th | 5.00 |
References
edit- ^ a b Khristos Papanikolaou. Sports-reference.com.
- ^ Smith shrugs off muscle pull to win Olympics 200-meter. Rome News – Tribune. 17 October 1968.
- ^ Verschoth, Anita (1 February 1971) Wait-listed For The Pantheon. Sports Illustrated
- ^ SPORTS BETTING – Online Sports Betting, Casino, Poker & Horse Racing Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Bettingexpress.com. Retrieved on 13 July 2015.
- ^ "Past Covers 1970". Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ Men's World Record Pole Vault Progression. track-and-field-jumpers.com
- ^ All Greeks in "Track and Field News" Magazine World Rankings 1947 – 2003. athletix.org
External links
edit- Profile (in Greek)
