New Thinking: The men’s pole-vault record—6.14 meters, or 20 feet and 1.75 inches—was set by the legendary Ukranian vaulter Sergey Bubka in 1994; no one else has ever cleared 20 feet (twice the height of a basketball hoop). But this might be the year the record falls, thanks to new light-weight poles made from carbon fiber and fiberglass (the old poles were pure fiberglass). The materials not only save almost a pound of heft but also provide faster recoil, transferring more of the energy stored in the bent pole back to the vaulter
