Charlie Brown boosts M55 American record in vault to 14-3 1/4

Charlie at 2007 meet in Santa Ana, Calif.

Competing in the last meet of the Friday Night Vault series this weekend at San Diego State University, Charlie Brown cleared 4.35 meters (14-3 1/4) to raise his own M55 American record of 4.20 (13-9 1/4) set a week earlier. See Friday’s results here. He’s still 10 inches shy of the listed M55 world record of 4.60 (15-1) by Germany’s Wolfgang Ritte in 2008. In the women’s vault, Nadine O’Connor of Del Mar cleared 3.06 (10-0 1/2) at age 68. The listed single-age world record (an unofficial compilation by Pete Mundle) is 2.32 (7-7 1/4) by Japan’s Midori Yamamoto in 2003. On the 2010 Age-Graded Tables, Nadine’s mark corresponds to an open jump of 4.94 meters (16-2 1/2). Other masters jumping at SDSU included M50 Bill Halverson, M55 Mike Hogan and W55 Rita Hanscom. The meet was USATF-sanctioned.

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July 17, 2010

4 Responses

  1. Pole Vault Power - July 17, 2010

    Was he on a raised runway or normal runway? It it was on a raised runway, the record won’t get certified.

  2. Bubba Sparks - July 18, 2010

    Great to see Charlie flying. I told some firends a month ago that with all of the new M55s coming in (Gary Hunter soon), that even though the outdoor AR was 4.13m, it would take 4.30m just to get a medal at WMAs next year, and that is just the Americans.

    On another front, John Altendorf will turn 65 next year, and if this video of him booming 13′ (3.96M) Thursday at Eugene is any indication, he will become not only the fist and only 60 year old to clear 13′, but the first 65 as well. Bubba
    http://www.johnaltendorf.com/polevaulting/john/2010/07-15_OTC_All-comers/13-0_O_9808.mov

  3. Nadine O'Connor - July 18, 2010

    All of Charlie’s jumps were on a regulation runway. The SDSU Friday night series is always well officiated according to USATF rules. The officials are among the best and take great pride in their precision. I am proud to be a small part of the series.

    Charlie’s jumping is elegant and beautiful to watch. Chris’ photo of him is one of my all time favorite photos. Thanks for posting it, Ken.

  4. Gary England - July 20, 2010

    I will buy Charlie a beer at the Bulgarian Embassy for that jump.

    Gary (The Ugly American)

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