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Here is a video ( newsreel ) of Bob Gutowski setting a new world record at
15' 8" in 1957. He was about 4 yrs ahead of myself and I saw him vault several times.

He gets my vote for the geatest "steel pole" vaulter of all time. Warmerdam was great and way ahead of everyone else, but his vaults were allways a little out of control. Gutowski apeared to float and had perfect body control.

Some things to note about his vault are:

He is using an aluminum gill pole which was the universal pole
at this time (1957). ie. everyone used them.

These poles were 16' long. One size fits all. You held as high on the pole as you could. He's holding about 13' and clearing 15' 8". The extra 3' of pole acted as a counter weight for carrying the pole. These poles came in three different weights. 160, 180, 200lbs. You could tell them apart by the number of steps near the planting end.

He slides his hands together during the plant and his arms are flexed at take off. The reason for this was to cushion the shock of taking off with an immovable object. A big difference from fiberglass. The purpose of the take off with a "steel pole" is to transition on to the pole as smoothly as possible. Remember, not only is the pole stiff but the lift begins immediatly. There is no time for 'cocking your take off leg, driving in, etc. The idea of a free take off was not only unheard of, but it would not of worked. Note the amount of bend in the pole. It occurs in the middle of his swing, not at take off.

Last but not least, His pole passes under the crossbar. He was denied the world record at 15' 10" because of this. I guess no one noticed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjeXZJpTGLQ

Probably the reason he isn't mentioned much is that he died so young.

Awesome find and thanks for Sharing!!

does anyone know where Bob was born and/or grew up?

The thing is...he HAD a free takeoff! Steel does flex slightly and if you look closely, there is a slight bend in that pole after takeoff. If he had been under, his arms would have been ripped backwards, his hips sucked forwards, and he would have landed in or near the box, IF he had been able to complete the jump at all.

Free takeoff does not necessarily mean "out" or "outside." It simply means your center of gravity is rising as evidenced by the heel lifting or foot completely off the ground on your takeoff step at the point of impact with the back of the box. Not really even impact, as much as the slack being taken up by the body. The slack doesn't get picked up by Bob's body until he's already rising up on the toe of his takeoff foot.

The terminology might not have been around then, but the principle was, because the physics of the steel vault demands a free takeoff as it was punishing not to be free.

Great video - thanks for posting.

Your right about where the takeoff was, The "free take off" terminology is probably confusing me. In any case if you were in or out on a "steel pole" your shoulders and back would definetly let you know about it.

Great clip.....just goes to show you that your step has to be ON!!!

"The "free take off" terminology is probably confusing me."
First -thanks for the clip -really appreciated it. Secondly re the 'free take off' - all will be clarified in the new version of BTB.

my high school coach competed at that meet. He said Gutowski was a freak of nature. He could pop on top of his hands like noone else

Thats awesome! I'm a little confused on a technical aspect of it, if you could help me with that. You said if he was taking off outside, the vault would not go well. So he wouldnt try to use the technically termed "pre-jump" and be at a higher angle to the box before the pole hit? Was it just not thought of back then, or was there something different about the straight pole that would make it undesirable to have your plant 3 inches higher when the pole hit the back of the box?

Either way, thats some awesome video and gutowski was an amazing vaulter!

That might be the first time I've seen a steel or bamboo pole go under the bar. What a push off!! Bubba

Bubba PV wrote:That might be the first time I've seen a steel or bamboo pole go under the bar. What a push off!! Bubba

,

If any of you old steel vaulters remember,the bottom hand came up and gave you a tremendous pendulum to swing ...then pull, turn and push using both arms once inverted.....there was also momentum. The early days of flexible vaulting the same sliding hand came up nearly together and I witness a HS 14 foot vault being able to just hold a foot higher and do the same thing....for what it's worth!!!

skyshark177 wrote:does anyone know where Bob was born and/or grew up?

He went to high school at La Jolla HS in La Jolla, CA. There is an article about his death (car accident) in Illustrated History of the Pole Vault.