Pole vault is a track and field event where athletes sprint down a runway carrying a long, flexible pole, plant one end of it in a box on the ground, and use the pole's bend and spring to launch themselves up and over a high bar. As the vaulter leaves the ground, the pole bends like a giant bow, storing energy, then straightens out and catapults them skyward. At the peak of their flight, they twist their body to clear the bar, then fall safely onto thick mats below.

The poles themselves have changed dramatically over time. Early vaulters used stiff bamboo or metal poles and could barely clear ten feet. Modern poles are made of fiberglass or carbon fiber and bend so much they look like they might snap (though they're incredibly strong). Today's best vaulters clear over twenty feet, higher than a two-story building.

Pole vaulting requires an unusual combination of speed (for the sprint), strength (to control the pole), timing (to plant it at exactly the right moment), and courage (to trust that bendy pole as you soar through the air). Many people consider it the most technically difficult event in track and field.

As a verb, to pole vault means to perform this event: converting running speed into vertical flight through precise coordination of sprinting, planting, and body control.