This event involves using a flexible pole to clear a bar set as high as possible. The pole vault is the only jumping event that involves using a tool to achieve height. According to historians, the origins of the pole vault may go back to antiquity.

It became an official event in 1812 during the first track and field meets in England and was in the Cambridge University championships in 1857. Although the women's pole vault was introduced just a few years later, the women's competition did not become an Olympic even until Sydney 2000. Women's do however,  compete in the pole vault in the world Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the World University Championships.