John Pennel

John Thomas Pennel (July 25, 1940 – September 26, 1993) was an American pole vaulter, and three time world record holder. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, he became a pole vaulter by chance. He used to dig holes for fun on his father's farm in Tennessee. "I left holes all over the farm," he said. "I don't know why I did it. I just had this urge." When he found an old roof top TV aerial, he began using it as a type of vaulting pole, looking up instead of down. One leap led to another, and in 1959 he went to Northeast Louisiana State College (NLSC) on a track scholarship. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,894595,00.html Time Magazine: Aug. 16, 1963-The Borrowed Pole] ]

John Pennel was one of the world's top pole vaulters throughout the 1960s, where he posted eight world bests between 1963 and 1969. In 1963, he was a senior at NLSC and was using a new weapon: the fiberglass pole. He jumped his first world record, (16 ft 3 in) in Memphis on March 23, 1963, then shattered the 17 foot barrier five months later on August 24 with a 17’¾” vault in Miami. The world record in the pole vault had risen less than six inches (to 16 feet) over the previous 20 years after aluminum poles had replaced bamboo. Following those amazing performances, Pennel won the 1963 Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete and was a favorite to win the gold medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Unfortunately, he suffered a back injury six weeks before the Games and finished 11th, with a height of 15-5. American teammate, Fred Hansen, set an Olympic record with a vault of 16-8¾ and won the Gold medal. After the Olympics, Hansen advanced the world record to 17-3¾, and Bob Seagren increased it to 17-5 two years later. Following Seagren’s performance, Pennel reclaimed the record at 17-6, in 1966.Two years later, Seagren and Pennel were rivals, and Pennel was again the favorite win an Olympic gold, but he was knocked out of the competition in Mexico City in 1968 and finished 5th when his pole fell under the bar and he was disqualified on a successful vault of 17-8 1/2 that would have clinched a bronze medal and kept him in competition for the gold, which was captured by Seagren. In 1969, Pennel set his eighth and last world record, 17-10 1/4, more than a foot and a half above his original mark. A series of injuries led him to retire from competition in 1970. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7DA173DF93AA1575AC0A965958260&scp=1&sq=John+Pennel&st=nyt The New York Times: September 29, 1993-John Pennel, First Pole-Vaulter To Clear 17 Feet, Is Dead at 53] ]

After his athletic career, Pennel worked in sports marketing, for Adidas and others, and made television commercials.

In the early 1990’s, he was diagnosed with stomach and liver cancer and died at age 53.
Pennel was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2004 [ [http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=206 USA Track & Field: Hall of Fame] ]

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