Michael Scott Tully (born October 21, 1956) is an American

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. He represented the United States twice in the Olympics, earning a silver in 1984, and held the American pole vault record from 1984 to 1985.

Early career

Born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, he went to college at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and was the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

champion in the pole vault in 1978 with a height of 5.53 metres. He won three national titles in 1977, 1979 and 1986. He also took the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

in 1976 and 1979 and the French championship in 1977. He enjoyed great success at the Mt. SAC Relays, winning four pole vault titles, each at a meet record height. His last victory came at a height exactly one foot higher than the first. He also holds the distinction of being the first vaulter to clear 18 feet in the competition. His efforts earned him the honor of induction into the Mt. SAC relays hall of fame in 1994.

International career

Tully won the first two World Cup competitions, the

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

and

1979 IAAF World Cup The 2nd IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on August 24–26, 1979, at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Overall re ...

. He qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but was unable to compete due to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was the largest boycott in Olympic history and one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summ ...

. Tully did however receive one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes. He competed at the 1983 World Championships without registering a valid mark. In a one-month period in 1984 he raised the American record three times by a total of almost three inches. He concluded the season with a silver medal at the

1984 Olympic Games The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...

. He took the American record from Jeff Buckingham, but his national record was broken in 1985. At the Pan American Games he won gold medals in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

, both times with championship records, first 5.45 metres then 5.71 metres. He also finished fourth at the

1986 Goodwill Games The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Luzhniki Stadium, Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Sov ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tully, Mike 1956 births Living people American male pole vaulters Track and field athletes from Long Beach, California World record holders in masters athletics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Congressional Gold Medal recipients Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Millikan High School alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners UCLA Bruins men's track and field athletes NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen