John Pennel
The Star Who Raised the Bar By Jose R. San Miguel While on the internet a few days ago, a music video titled Raise the Bar caught my attention. The vocal artist is Shannon Penn and to my surprise, it is a touching dedication to the memory of her father John Pennel, 2-time Olympian, 2-time world indoor record holder, and 4-time outdoor world record holder in the pole vault. The video is a montage of John’s athletic career and life as a family man. It illuminates the legacy he left his daughter. John was the first man to ever clear 17 feet in the pole vault. A pioneer and a risk taker, John broke that barrier using one of the first fiberglass poles made. The year was 1963, before landing mats, standard base pads, fiberglass crossbars, and carbon fiber poles existed. Vaulters jumped on aluminum or bamboo poles, propelling themselves over a three-sided aluminum cross bar to land in a pile of saw dust.
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Since 1912, the pole vault outdoor world record has been broken 74 times by 34 men. You probably know a few of them: Bubka - 17 times and Thierry Vigneron - 5. But there were others with multiple world record clearances including Bob Seagren – 4, Charles Hoff – 4, Cornellius Warmerdam – 4, and John Pennel – 4, making John one of the greatest pole vaulters of all time. Wikipedia says John started pole vaulting on his father’s farm using
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an old television aerial, but family lore tells it differently. During track practice at Coral Gables High School in Florida, John’s oldest brother Bill challenged him to vault. Suspecting a set up, but refusing to back down, John jumped without any instructions. He failed miserably to the delight of Bill’s friends who were hanging around the pole vault pit. John’s competitive nature, and strong Irish will would not let that be the end, so he made another attempt, soaring higher than all the others, including his brother. The laughs turned to shocked silence and John knew it was a good jump. A loud voice began shouting at him from across the field. “Hey you! What do you think you’re doing? Who are you?’ It was Coach Injachock, the high school coach, and John thought he was in trouble. “I expect you at practice tomorrow at 6:30 am!” And just like that, a world record and Olympic career began.
August 5, 1963. Fred Hansen and Bob Seagren jumped higher in subsequent years and John reclaimed the world record in ‘66 with 5.34m and again in ‘69 with a clearance of 5.44m/17-10.25, a mark that stood until 1970. Representing the USA at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, John was the favorite but he finished 11th while competing with an injured back. At the 1968 Games in Mexico City, he finished 5th amidst a rules’ controversy. The Olympics are the greatest stage for the human drama of athletic competition. We witness the thrill of victory for some and the agony of defeat for others. Results at the Games do not have an asterisk next to them to tell the full story and we will give John his due.
John dedicated himself to becoming great. He trained in his backyard with bamboo sticks, jumped over fences, and taped up TV antennas to use as a pole. Appreciating that the conflict in pole vault is not beating a competitor but besting the self, he sought personal improvement.
John cleared a medal winning height at the ’68 Games, but the jump was ruled a foul because the pole passed under the bar while he was landing, which was illegal at the time. John finished 5th and the antiquated IAAF rule which had already been rescinded but was still in effect, was abolished the following year, too late for John’s jump to be ruled fair. John retired in 1969 with the world record, without achieving his Olympic medal dream.
John set his first world record with a 5.13m vault in London, England on
Instead of being bitter, John moved on. He became a typical retired
