Chris Nilsen Clears 18 Feet in Pole Vault, No. 9 in History!
Park Hill, Missouri senior Chris Nilsen cleared 18'-0" in the pole vault last night to become the ninth-best pole vaulter in U.S. history.
He is the tenth vaulter to clear 18 feet and the ninth vaulter to clear the height outdoors.
The mark was a six inch personal best for the University of South Dakota commit, who set his prior top mark of 17'-6.5" at the Kansas Relays two weeks ago.
"I think it was just a relaxed environment!" he said. "I had all of my friends and family there and I came in when everyone was done so it was just a fun meet!"
He said the 18-foot barrier has been on his mind since clearing 17 feet at the Missouri state meet last year.
"When I jumped that, I realized that I wasn't done yet and I could keep going," he said.
His next goal is to clear 18'-4" and break the national high school record set by Shawn Barber in 2012. If he clears 18-4, the next number is 18'-6.5."
View a video of the 18 foot clearance, courtesy of the @PH_Track_Field instagram:
View the new U.S. all-time top ten list below.
| mark | athlete | school | year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-3.5 | Shawn Barber | Kingwood, TX | 2012 |
| 18-3 | Tommy Skipper | Sandy, OR | 2003 |
| 18-2.25 | Eric Eshbach | Orangefield, TX | 1999 |
| 18-2 | Brandon Richards | San Marcos, CA | 1985 |
| 18-1.25 | Joe Dial | Marlow, OK | 1981 |
| 18-0.5 | Devin King | Sumner, LA | 2014 |
| 18-0.5i | Mondo Duplantis | Lafayette, LA | 2016 |
| 18-0.25 | Jack Whitt | North, OK | 2009 |
| 18-0A | Pat Manson | Central, CO | 1986 |
| 18-0 | Chris Nilsen | Park Hill, MO | 2016 |
i = indoors
A = Altitude
