Steven Lewis

English pole vaulter

Steven Lewis
Personal information
Born (1986-05-20) 20 May 1986 (age 37)
Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight84 kg (185 lb)
Sport
Country United Kingdom
SportAthletics
EventPole Vault
Achievements and titles
Highest world rankingWorld Number 3
Personal best5.82
Medal record
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Pole vault
Silver medal – second place 2010 Delhi Pole vault
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne Pole vault
Updated on 7 August 2014.

Steven ("Steve") James Lewis (born 20 May 1986) is an English pole vaulter. His personal best jump of 5.82 metres, set in July 2012, is the former British record for the event.[1] Indoors his best is 5.77 m, achieved in Dessau on 2 March 2012.[2]

Lewis was born in Stoke-on-Trent, and he attended Holden Lane High School.[3] Originally a hurdler, he switched to pole vaulting.[4] Lewis finished in fourth place at the 2009 European Indoor Championships with jump of 5.71 m, which resulted in British head coach Charles van Commenee praising his development.[5][6]

He represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics and is a three-time medalist for England at the Commonwealth Games. He has participated at the World Championships in Athletics on five occasions (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015) and was a finalist on multiple occasions. He has been a finalist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships three times.

Lewis achieved a personal best and broke the British record of 5.80 m set by Nick Buckfield in 1998, with a vault of 5.82 m at the 2012 Janusz Kusociński Memorial in Szczecin, Poland.[7] He competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing in fourth place with a vault of 5.75 m, becoming Britain's most successful men's pole vault Olympian.

In 2014, he won the Commonwealth title, completing a full set of Commonwealth medals.

Injured in 2016 Lewis missed the Rio Olympic Qualification Standard and retired in early 2017 in Reno, Nevada. Lewis is considered the most successful British pole-vaulter of all time after representing Great Britain in major championship finals consistently over a 12-year period, winning 13 national titles, breaking junior and senior records, and winning international medals.

Competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  Great Britain and  England
2003 World Youth Championships Sherbrooke, Canada 3rd 5.05 m
2004 World Junior Championships Grosseto, Italy 9th 5.00 m
2005 European Junior Championships Kaunas, Lithuania 5th 5.10 m
2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia 3rd 5.50 m
2007 European Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 15th (q) 5.55 m
European U23 Championships Debrecen, Hungary 7th 5.55 m
World Championships Osaka, Japan – NM
2008 World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 15th (q) 5.35 m
Olympic Games Beijing, China – NM
2009 European Indoor Championships Turin, Italy 4th 5.71 m
World Championships Berlin, Germany 9th 5.65 m
2010 World Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar 6th 5.45 m
Commonwealth Games Delhi, India 2nd 5.60 m
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 9th 5.65 m
2012 World Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 5th 5.70 m
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 4th 5.75 m
2013 European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 6th 5.71 m
World Championships Moscow, Russia – NM
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 1st 5.55 m
European Championships Zürich, Switzerland 11th 5.40 m
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 29th (q) 5.40 m

References

  1. ^ Jackowski, Pawel (2012-07-22). Wlodarczyk and Alekna underscore London medal aspirations in Szczecin. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-07-22.
  2. ^ "IAAF: Steven Lewis | Profile". iaaf.org. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Stoke born Team GB Pole Vaulter Steve Lewis talks to 6 Towns Radio - Listen again | 6 Towns Radio". Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Glasgow 2014 - Steven Lewis Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  5. ^ Van Commenee rues missed targets. BBC Sport (2009-03-08). Retrieved on 2009-03-11.
  6. ^ Broadbent, Rick (2009-03-09). Coach spells out need for improvement. The Times. Retrieved on 2009-03-11.
  7. ^ "Lewis breaks British vault record". BBC Sport.

External links

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Commonwealth Games champions in men's pole vault
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Authority control databases: People Edit this at Wikidata
  • World Athletics


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