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.

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 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 like that, a world record and Olympic career began.

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 set his first world record with a 5.13m vault in London, England on 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 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.

Instead of being bitter, John moved on. He became a typical retired pole vaulter. While on a drive with his daughter, Shannon noticed him inspecting the height of an upcoming overpass. She asked what he was doing. He replied, “I imagined myself vaulting over the overpass. I can clear it. I love that feeling.”

A comedian and entertainer with the personality to fill up the room and command everyone’s attention, John was also the Marlboro Man in the TV and print commercials; a participant in The Dating Game against Burt Reynolds; and he appeared in the television show What’s My Line? He loved to go into his basement and create home videos of himself singing or being goofy. He mastered the art of the selfie decades before cell phones with cameras were invented!

Yet John was humble to a fault, unassuming, and unimpressed by his own success. Shannon describes her father as her best friend, an awesome person with a passion for living life to the fullest. A dedicated parent with a kind soul, John was a star who radiated positive energy. He loved playing the guitar and singing, imparting his love for music to his daughter.

But the greatest gift John gave Shannon and her siblings Sean and Erin, was perseverance. He taught them to never give up no matter the odds. His love for life was evident even during his devastating cancer diagnosis. He sought one treatment after another, ounces of hope to live one more day. Even facing death, he inspired those who knew him.

Shannon was 15 years old when John died. She sought solace by running. Mile after mile, while eating less and less, Shannon eventually faced the consequences of a serious eating disorder that required many years of treatments and hospitalizations. But Shannon knew she had what it took to overcome this, because her father taught her to never lose hope and she never has. She now advocates for youth to receive the proper support and medical help needed to deal with this lonely disorder that affects so many.

The music video starts with John asking 4-year old Shannon what she wants to be when she grows up. A nurse. He prompts her again and she says ‘an artist’, a foretelling moment when a father ignites a light within his daughter to carry her own torch forward.

Years later, inspired by the 2021 Olympics, and the challenges surrounding it, Shannon composed Raise the Bar, to encourage people to set the bar a little higher whether in hardship or triumph. Wearing John’s 1964 Olympic Team USA gear, she brings him to life, at times walking alongside him, showcasing him as a great athlete and tender parent.

The true gifts we pass on to our children are not material or financial, but intrinsic. A life filled with meaningful pursuit, a determination to challenge your personal best, and the willingness to overcome. The gift back to the parent is what the child does with the legacy, and in this Shannon has remembered, honored and raised her own bar.

She hopes you will do the same.

Click here to watch the music video Raise the Bar by Shannon Penn.

Photo credit: Shannon Penn

Raise The Bar

Lyrics by Shannon Penn

First you learn how to crawl, then you walk and you fall

With every new step you don't feel so small

Gotta get off the ground to learn how to fly

Gotta move on, keep climbing til you touch the sky

Uncompromising the search for your star

You fail then you fight back and try even harder

Don't give up, don't think you can't win in the end And when you break down take it higher and higher

No limits, no mercy, go stronger and then

Run into the flames throw your fear on the fire

And always raise the bar

And just when you think you're a star

Raise the bar

The laws of gravity are yours to break

Defy human frailty with the chances you take Push yourself, test yourself and let every scar

Be your badge of honor, remind you who you are

The will is relentless, the struggle sublime

The triumph euphoric, this is your time

CHORUS

Raise the bar when you're losing

Raise the bar when you win

Raise the bar when you're all alone

Raise the bar when the whole world's watching

Of all the reasons why you're here today

It's no secret that all of the sacrifice, all of the pain

Is the biggest part of the game

CHORUS

As the lights fade to black This is forever Don't ever look back

Photo credits: Shannon Penn