Cornelius Warmerdam biography

 Cornelius Warmerdam biography

Cornelius Warmerdam, byname Dutch Warmerdam, (born June 22, 1915, Long Beach, California, U.S.—died November 13, 2001, Fresno), American pole-vaulter, the primary to achieve 15 ft (4.57 metres) and the final to set main information with a bamboo pole.

Warmerdam, who was of Dutch ancestry, started vaulting at age 12, utilizing the limb of a peach tree. A graduate of Fresno State College and Stanford University, he taught bodily training and coached observe and area at Fresno State (later California State University at Fresno). On April 13, 1940, at Berkeley, California, he first achieved a vault of 15 ft. Using a bamboo pole, he established a world outside report of 15.6 ft (4.77 metres) on May 23, 1942, at Modesto, California. Few different athletes have so dominated their sport. Warmerdam cleared 15 ft or larger on 43 events earlier than every other particular person carried out the feat as soon as. He gained the U.S. pole-vault title constantly from 1937 to 1944, besides in 1939. In 1942 he acquired the Sullivan Award as the perfect American novice athlete. Regrettably, World War II disadvantaged him of the chance to compete within the Olympics.

Warmerdam retired from pole-vaulting competitors in 1944, and his information stood for a number of years. Not till January 27, 1951, did Bob Richards turn out to be the second man to vault 15 ft. Don Bragg, who used an aluminum pole, broke Warmerdam’s long-standing outside report on July 2, 1960. Warmerdam continued to vault into his 60s.