Christos Papanikolaou
Personal information
Born (1941-11-25) 25 November 1941
Trikala, Greece
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
Country Greece
SportAthletics
EventPole vault
ClubGS Trikalon, Panathinaikos
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking1st
Personal best5.49 m (1970)
Medal record
Representing  Greece
European Championships
Silver medal – second place1966 BudapestPole vault

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.

Biography

At 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

YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
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

  1. 1 2 Khristos Papanikolaou. Sports-reference.com.
  2. ↑ Smith shrugs off muscle pull to win Olympics 200-meter. Rome News – Tribune. 17 October 1968.
  3. ↑ Verschoth, Anita (1 February 1971) Wait-listed For The Pantheon. Sports Illustrated
  4. ↑ SPORTS BETTING – Online Sports Betting, Casino, Poker & Horse Racing Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Bettingexpress.com. Retrieved on 13 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Past Covers 1970". Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  6. ↑ Men's World Record Pole Vault Progression. track-and-field-jumpers.com
  7. ↑ All Greeks in "Track and Field News" Magazine World Rankings 1947 – 2003. athletix.org
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