Vladimir Polyakov (; born 17 April 1960) is a retired Soviet

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 who represented the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and later

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. On 26 June 1981 he managed to clear 5.81 metres, beating Thierry Vigneron's six-day-old

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 ...

. Two years later Polyakov lost the record to Pierre Quinon, who jumped 5.82. Polyakov won a silver medal at the 1982 European Championships, and won the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet court A carpet court is a type of tennis court. The Intern ...

in 1983.

Achievements

References

* 1960 births Living people Soviet male pole vaulters Russian male pole vaulters World record setters in athletics (track and field) European Athletics Championships medalists Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games silver medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade People from Aleksinsky District Sportspeople from Tula Oblast World Athletics Championships athletes for the Soviet Union Soviet Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Russian sportsmen {{USSR-athletics-bio-stub