Brian Sternberg

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On April 27, 1963, Sternberg set a world record

Brian Douglas Sternberg (born June 21, 1943 in Seattle ; † May 23, 2013 ) was an American athlete who appeared as a pole vaulter in the early 1960s. In 1963 he jumped three world records. He went down in history as the first 5-meter jumper.

In 1963 he won both the NCAA and the AAU championships (4.97 m and 4.98 m, respectively).

Brian Sternberg was nominated to participate in an international match USA - USSR . However, on July 2, 1963, two weeks before his flight to the Soviet Union , he had an accident while training on the trampoline and suffered a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae, which resulted in almost complete paralysis and a loss of vocal power . After the accident became known, the Soviet Union sent him a victory medal.

In 1998 he let Dr. Harry Goldsmith operate in Germany. During the procedure, the omentum was stretched and attached to the fracture site. Since then, Sternberg has been almost pain-free and has been able to sit upright for a long time and speak several words in context at a normal volume. He commented on this success on September 21, 1998 in an interview for Sports Illustrated magazine . An ongoing trust fund was set up to fund his treatment.

Brian Sternberg last lived in Seattle. He worked as a correspondent for the Christian association The Fellowship of Christian Athletes .

World records

  • 4.64 m on August 11, 1962 in Vancouver (Junior WR)
  • 4.77 m on August 25, 1962 in Vancouver (Junior WR)
  • 5.00 m on April 27, 1963 in Philadelphia (improvement of John Pennel's previous record by 2 cm)
  • 5.05 m on May 25, 1963 in Modesto (setting of the previous record for John Pennel )
  • 5.08 m on June 7, 1963 in Compton ( improved to 5.10 m on July 14, 1963 by John Pennel )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rudman, Steve: Huskies vault legend Brian Sternberg (1943-13) , accessed June 4, 2013
  2. ↑ Article 7 Just too much to live for ( Memento of the original from May 1, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Sports Illustrated magazine . Retrieved August 11, 2011  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / members.cox.net
personal data
SURNAME Sternberg, Brian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sternberg, Brian Douglas (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American athlete
DATE OF BIRTH June 21, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Seattle , Washington
DATE OF DEATH May 23, 2013