Americans won the pole vault gold medal in every official Olympic Games from 1896 through 1968 (not including the semi-official 1906 event). Bob Seagren, the 1968 gold medalist, might’ve continued that run for one more Olympics but for a dispute that played out during the summer preceding the 1972 Games.…
The two best jumpers in 1972 were defending champion Bob Seagren and Sweden’s Kjell Isaksson. But also highly considered was 1968 bronze medalist Wolfgang Nordwig (GDR), who had won the 1966, 1969, and 1971 European Championships. Seagren and Isaksson were using the new Cata-Pole. But on 25 July the IAAF declared that pole to be…
