Casey Carrigan
Casey O. Carrigan (born February 4, 1951, in
Carrigan began vaulting in fifth grade with his brothers in a backyard wood chip pit. Fiberglass poles were invented three years later. As a freshman, he went 14'6" which advanced to 15'8" by his sophomore year. His Olympic Trials jump was the national record that he improved to 17'4¾" in 1969. It has remained as the Washington state record ever since. He was ranked #6 in the world in 1969. Other than his father getting film of collegiate vaulters, he was self coached through most of his career.
He finished third at the 1968 and 1969 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He got a scholarship to Stanford University, finishing in a tie for fourth place at the 1970 NCAA Championships. After a year of college, burn out set in and he gave up his scholarship. He didn't even try for the 1972 Olympics, but came back in 1974 to become the #4 ranked vaulter in the world.[2] He set his personal best of 5.45 m (17 ft 10+1⁄2 in) in 1975, which at the time was only 20 cm below the world record.[3]
Carrigan later worked as a firefighter in Long Beach, California, until his retirement in 2009.[4] He described the selection process for the job to be more competitive than the Olympics.[5]
References
- ^ Mens Pole Vault Qualifying Round at Sports Reference
- ^ "Men's World Pole Vault Rankings by Athlete". Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
- ^ Casey Carrigan at Sports Reference
- ^ "Casey O Carrigan | Transparent California". transparentcalifornia.com. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
- ^ "Where Are They Now: Casey Carrigan". 28 April 2004.