Bill Sefton
Bill Sefton in 1935 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | January 21, 1915 Los Angeles, California, United States |
Died | May 2, 1982 (aged 67) Plano, Texas, United States |
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) |
Sport | |
Sport | Pole vault |
Club | USC Trojans, Los Angeles |
Achievements and titles | |
Olympic finals | 1936 |
William Healy Sefton (January 21, 1915 – May 2, 1982) was an American pole vaulter. Sefton broke the pole vault world record several times in 1937 and placed fourth in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
Athletic career
Early career
Sefton was a good pole vaulter already in 1932, while still at Polytechnic High School. He vaulted 13 ft 5+1⁄4 in (4.09 m) for a national high school record[1][2] and shared first place in the California interscholastic championship meet.[3] In 1934 he vaulted at least 14 ft (4.26 m) on four occasions, clearing 14 ft 1⁄2 in (4.28 m) at Santa Barbara on April 28,[4] and tied for first at the national junior championships with a new meeting record of 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m).[5]
Sefton and Earle Meadows were teammates at the University of Southern California and collectively known as the "Heavenly Twins".[6] The two tied for first at the 1935 NCAA championship meet, both vaulting 14 ft 1+1⁄8 in (4.29 m) for a new meeting record as USC won the team title.[7][8] They also tied at the national championships, both clearing 13 ft 10+3⁄8 in (4.22 m) to share first place.[9]
1936
Sefton and Meadows tied at the NCAA meet again in 1936, this time vaulting 14 ft 1+3⁄4 in (4.31 m) to improve their meeting record by a fraction of an inch.[7][10] At the national championships George Varoff won with a new world record of 14 ft 6+1⁄2 in (4.43 m) while Sefton vaulted 14 ft (4.26 m) for third.[9] However, the Olympic trials were held separately the following week and there Varoff only placed fourth and was left off the team, while Sefton, Meadows and returning Olympian and USC graduate Bill Graber all cleared 14 ft 3 in (4.34 m) to tie for first.[11] It was the first time one university had swept the three Olympic spots at the trials.[11]
Sefton almost failed to qualify for the Olympic final, missing twice at 3.80 m (12 ft 5+5⁄8 in) in qualifying but clearing cleanly on his third attempt.[12] In the final Meadows won with an Olympic record of 4.35 m (14 ft 3+1⁄4 in) while Sefton and two Japanese vaulters, Shuhei Nishida and Sueo Ōe, all cleared 4.25 m (13 ft 11+3⁄8 in) and had an extra vault as a tie-breaker.[13][14] Sefton lost the jump-off and thus finished out of the medals in fourth place.[14]
1937
Sefton broke the world record several times in 1937. He first improved it in Los Angeles on April 10, clearing 14 ft 7+3⁄8 in (4.45 m) to beat Varoff's mark from the previous year.[15] A month later in San Francisco he cleared 14 ft 8+1⁄2 (4.48 m) in a dual meet against Stanford, but Meadows equaled that height later in the same competition.[16] Finally, in the conference meet on May 29, again in Los Angeles, Sefton vaulted 14 ft 11 in (4.54 m), clearing that height on his first attempt.[17] Meadows, despite missing on his first two attempts, again tied the new record on his third and final try.[17] The two were not able to attempt 15 ft (4.57 m) that day as the standards maxed out at 14 ft 11 in and the bar couldn't be raised any higher.[17][18] Only these last records were officially ratified by the IAAF.[19]
Sefton finally won outright at the NCAA championships, clearing 14 ft 8+7⁄8 in (4.49 m) for a meeting record and beating both Varoff and Meadows.[7] It was only in 1951 that Don Laz of Illinois broke that record.[7][20] Sefton also won the 1937 national title with a leap of 14 ft 7+5⁄8 in (4.46 m), another meeting record; Dutch Warmerdam, Meadows and Varoff all cleared the same height but missed out on countback.[9][21]
References
- ^ "Olympics Beckon High School Stars". The Milwaukee Journal. June 27, 1932. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Polytechnic Student Yearbook". 1932. p. 126. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Previous CIF Champions" (PDF). California Interscholastic Federation; DyeStat. p. 14.
- ^ Dumas, Gerard. "14-FOOT ERA (4.26,7m)". Pole Vault Canada. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ Kirksey, George (June 30, 1934). "Far Westerners Score 24 Points; Big Meet Today". Nevada State Journal. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Earle Meadows Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Hill, E. Garry. "All-Time NCAA Men's Results/POLE VAULT" (PDF). Track & Field News.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Three New Marks for N.C.4.A. Meet". Lawrence Journal-World. June 24, 1935. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ a b c Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian; Track & Field News. "A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2011". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
- ^ "Trojan Star to Appear in Meet Here". The Milwaukee Journal. June 24, 1936. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ a b Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field". USA Track & Field; Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "SEFTON QUALIFIES IN POLE VAULT". The Telegraph. August 5, 1936. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Athletics at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games: Men's Pole Vault". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ a b "Meadows Breaks Vault Record". The Milwaukee Journal. August 5, 1936.
- ^ "Sefton Sets Vault Mark". The Pittsburgh Press. April 11, 1937. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Meadows, Sefton Vault 14 Feet 8½". The Day. May 10, 1937. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ a b c "California Duo Sets Unofficial Record In Meet". St. Petersburg Times. May 30, 1937. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Bill Sefton Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ Butler, Mark; IAAF Media & Public Relations Department, IAAF Statistics Handbook Daegu 2011, International Association of Athletics Federations
- ^ "Two Records Set, Trojans Win at NCAA". The Miami News. June 16, 1951. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ Weekes, William (July 4, 1937). "TOLMICH AND CUNNINGHAM STAR IN AAU MEET AT MILWAUKEE". Big Spring Daily Herald. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
External links
- Profile
Records | ||
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Preceded by | Men's Pole Vault World Record Holder April 10, 1937 – April 13, 1940 | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
New York Athletic Club
- 1877: George McNichol
- 1878: Alfred Ing
NAAAA
- 1879–81: William Van Houten
- 1882: B.F. Richardson
- 1883–86: Hugh Baxter
- 1887: Tom Ray (GBR) & Hugh Baxter
- 1888Note 1: G.B. Quinn
Amateur Athletic Union
- 1888Note 1: Lincoln Godshall
- 1889: Lat Stones (GBR) & D.F. O'Brien
- 1890: Walter Rodenbaugh
- 1891–92: Theodore Luce
- 1893–94: Christian Buchholz
- 1895: Hermann Thomas
- 1896: Franklin Allis
- 1897: Jesse Hurlburt
- 1898: Raymond Clapp
- 1899: Irving Baxter
- 1900: Bascom Johnson
- 1901: Charles Dvorak
- 1902: August Anderson
- 1903: Charles Dvorak
- 1904: H.L. Gardner
- 1905: Roy Heater
- 1906: LeRoy Samse
- 1907: Ed Cook
- 1908: William Halpenny (CAN) & Claude Allen
- 1909: Roy Paulding
- 1910: Harry Babcock
- 1911: Ed Cook, Frank Coyle & Sam Bellah
- 1912: Harry Babcock
- 1913: Stanley Wagoner
- 1914: Ken Curtis
- 1915: Sam Bellah
- 1916: Sherman Landers
- 1917: Edward Knourek
- 1918: Carl Buck
- 1919–20: Frank Foss
- 1921–22: Edward Knourek
- 1923–24: Edwin Myers
- 1925: Harry Smith
- 1926: Paul Harrington
- 1927–28: Lee Barnes
- 1929–30: Fred Sturdy
- 1931: Jack Wool
- 1932: Bill Graber
- 1933: Keith Brown & Matt Gordy
- 1934: Keith Brown, Bill Graber & Wirt Thompson
- 1935: Earle Meadows & Bill Sefton
- 1936: George Varoff
- 1937: Bill Sefton
- 1938: Cornelius Warmerdam
- 1939: George Varoff
- 1940–44: Cornelius Warmerdam
- 1945: Boo Morcom & Robert Phelps
- 1946: Irving Moore
- 1947: Boo Morcom
- 1948: Boo Morcom & Bob Richards
- 1949–51: Bob Richards
- 1952: Bob Richards & Don Laz
- 1953: Don Laz & George Mattos
- 1954–57: Bob Richards
- 1958: Ron Morris
- 1959: Don Bragg
- 1960: Aubrey Dooley
- 1961–62: Ron Morris
- 1963: Brian Sternberg
- 1964: Fred Hansen
- 1965: John Pennel
- 1966: Bob Seagren
- 1967: Paul Wilson
- 1968: Dick Railsback
- 1969–70: Bob Seagren
- 1971: Jan Johnson
- 1972: Dave Roberts
- 1973: Mike Cotton
- 1974: Dave Roberts
- 1975: Don Baird (AUS) * Terry Porter
- 1976: Earl Bell
- 1977: Mike Tully
- 1978: Dan Ripley
- 1979: Mike Tully
The Athletics Congress
- 1980: Tom Hintnaus
- 1981: Billy Olson
- 1982: Dan Ripley & Billy Olson
- 1983: Jeff Buckingham
- 1984: Earl Bell
- 1985: Joe Dial
- 1986: Mike Tully
- 1987: Joe Dial
- 1988–89: Kory Tarpenning
- 1990: Earl Bell
- 1991–92: Tim Bright
USA Track & Field
- 1993–95: Scott Huffman
- 1996–97: Lawrence Johnson
- 1998–99: Jeff Hartwig
- 2000–01: Lawrence Johnson
- 2002–03: Jeff Hartwig
- 2004: Tim Mack
- 2005: Brad Walker
- 2006: Russ Buller
- 2007: Brad Walker
- 2008: Derek Miles
- 2009: Brad Walker
- 2010: Mark Hollis
- 2011: Derek Miles
- 2012–13: Brad Walker
- 2014–19: Sam Kendricks
- 2020 not held
- 20212020 OT: Chris Nilsen
- Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
- OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.