Pre-Olympic pole vault trophy. Athens, spring 1896

Pre-Olympic pole vault trophy. Athens, spring 1896.
Pewter.
Woods and Sons stamp, Chicago.
Measurements: 10,5 x 20 x 11,5 cm.

Pre-Olympic trophy linked to the beginnings of pole vaulting and to the figure of one of its great pioneers. Barely a month elapsed between the time when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology student William Welles Hoyt (1875-1954) won this award on March 14, 1896 in a competition held in the United States, and his Olympic consecration in Athens on April 10 of the same year, where he achieved victory with a jump of 3.30 meters. Made of pewter -a material very characteristic of American production at the time-, the trophy stands out for its wide handles with a sinuous profile and is signed by the firm Wood and Sons of Chicago. The piece thus preserves the memory of its first owner, an Olympic champion who made a decisive contribution to the development of this discipline. After graduating from Harvard in 1897, Hoyt developed a career as a physician and surgeon, even participating in the front during the First World War before residing for a time in France and later returning to the United States. His career is situated at the origins of American hegemony in the pole vault, a specialty that later figures such as Bob Richards - the famous "Flying Shepherd" - would take even further. This trophy, therefore, is an exceptional testimony to that foundational moment in the history of the sport.