pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person
uses a long, flexible pole
one that's usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber
as an aid to leap over a bar
in college we called that bar hopping
pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient
greeks, cretans and others as a means of actually vaulting
over enemy walls for the penetration of the enemy stronghold
this form of war didn't work very good because
when they arrived in the enemy camp
all they had was a pole, the enemy had swords - oops
it has been an olympic full medal event for men since 1896
critics say that this event shows the athlete's power & polish
the men have used these poles
as an aid in getting over the bar for years
so naturally, the bar has been raised - a lot
back in 1912 the bar was at a little over 4 meters
now it's over 6 meters and the bar is rising
women liked the idea and they wanted to get into the act
so, it was added as a women's medal event just as recently
as the 2000 games in sydney for no other reason that
the aussies had some hot looking pole dancers
that weren't allowed to participate in the opening ceremonies
and they also liked the way the women handled them poles
