David Roberts (athlete)
David Roberts ( David Luther "Dave" Roberts; born July 23, 1951 in Stillwater , Oklahoma ) is a former American pole vaulter who was successful in the first half of the 1970s. He set two world records and won an Olympic bronze medal.
He came into the public spotlight in 1971 when he won the silver medal at the Pan American Games in Cali behind his compatriot Jan Johnson and ahead of the Canadian Bruce Simpson .
Starting for Rice University , he was NCAA champion three times in a row from 1971 to 1973 . In 1972 and 1974 he was US champion.
On March 28, 1975 he set a world record in Gainesville with 5.65 m and on June 22, 1976 in Eugene with 5.70 m. At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, like the Pole Tadeusz Ślusarski and the Finn Antti Kalliomäki, he jumped the Olympic record height of 5.50 m. The number of unsuccessful attempts determined the distribution of medals, and so Ślusarski received gold, Kalliomäki silver and Roberts bronze.
David Roberts was inducted into the USA Pole Vault Hall of Fame in 2006.
Web links
- David Roberts in the database of trackfield.brinkster.net (English)
- David Roberts in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Roberts, David |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Roberts, David Luther (full name); Roberts, Dave |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American pole vaulter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 23, 1951 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Stillwater , Oklahoma |