Christos Papanikolaou (, born 25 November 1941) is a Greek retired

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

er. On 25 October 1970, he set the world record at , significant to Americans as the first man to pole vault 18 feet. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and finished in 18th, 4th and 11th place, respectively. He won a silver medal at the 1966 European Championships. He was a two-time champion at the

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

. He was named the Greek Athlete of the Year, for the years 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1970.

Biography

At a young age Papanikolaou joined the Sports Club of Trikala. After completing his high school he enrolled to the Sports Academy of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. While in Athens, he joined Panathinaikos. His greatest ever championship achievements only came when he won the silver medal at the 1966 European Championships and finished fourth at the 1968 Summer Olympics.Khristos Papanikolaou
Sports-reference.com. Papanikolaou trained in the United States at San Jose State College and was part of their 1969 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship team coached by Lloyd (Bud) Winter. At the 1970

Universiade The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a Blend word, portmanteau of the wor ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Papanikolaou finished second behind Wolfgang Nordwig, who won the event with a new

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

of 5.46 metres. On 24 October the same year Papanikolaou jumped 5.49 metres in Athens to set a new

. The vault was featured on the November 1970 cover of ''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

.'' The record was later beaten by Swede Kjell Isaksson on 8 April 1972. Papanikolaou was ranked by ''Track and Field News'' among the top ten pole vaulters a total of seven times between 1966 and 1972, more than any other Greek athlete. His highest position was second in 1970.. athletix.org

Achievements

References

External links

Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papanikolaou, Christos 1941 births Living people Greek male pole vaulters Olympic athletes for Greece Track and field athletes from San Jose, California Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Panathinaikos A.O. World record setters in athletics (track and field) European Athletics Championships medalists World record holders in masters athletics Panathinaikos Athletics Sportspeople from Trikala Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Greece Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Mediterranean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Mediterranean Games FISU World University Games silver medalists for Greece Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade 21st-century Greek people San Jose State Spartans men's track and field athletes 20th-century Greek sportsmen