BBC Inside Science What’s the highest a human could possibly pole vault?
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Oct 16, 2025 Join Steve Haake, a sports engineering professor, as he delves into the physics behind pole vaulting, explaining how Armand Duplantis achieves record heights with technique and equipment. Neuroscientist James Ainge reveals groundbreaking work on brain cells that track distance, sharing insights from experiments with rats and humans. Mathematician Katie Steckles introduces exciting new mathematical discoveries and their implications, including recent findings in knot theory and the geometry of shapes. It's a fascinating blend of sports, neuroscience, and mathematics!
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Energy Limits Define Pole Vault Height
- Pole vault height depends on converting sprint kinetic energy into pole spring energy and then into gravitational potential energy.
- Pole design, stiffness and athlete speed/technique determine how many joules are available for the vault.
Speed Trumps Mass For More Vault Energy
- Kinetic energy scales with velocity squared, so increasing sprint speed yields disproportionately more energy for the vault.
- Duplantis appears 5–10% faster than peers, explaining part of his record-breaking advantage.
Use Stiffer Shoes For Record Attempts
- Use very stiff, specialist shoes to transmit running force into the runway and pole effectively.
- Accept occasional extra risk from sharp spikes when using these shoes for maximal record attempts.
