11 Facts About Cornelius Warmerdam

Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam was an American pole vaulter who held the world record between 1940 and 1957.

Cornelius Warmerdam missed the Olympics due to World War II, and retired from senior competitions in 1944, though he continued to vault into his sixties.

Cornelius Warmerdam was inducted into the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall of Fame in 1974.

Cornelius Warmerdam got his start in pole vaulting in his backyard using the limb of a peach tree and landing in a pit of piled up dirt.

Cornelius Warmerdam was discovered by the local track coach and vaulted for Hanford High School until his graduation in 1932, after which he attended and vaulted for Fresno State College.

Vaulting throughout his career with a bamboo pole, Cornelius Warmerdam was the first vaulter to clear 15 feet, accomplishing that feat at UC Berkeley on April 13,1940.

Cornelius Warmerdam surpassed the pole vault record seven times in a four-year span, and three of those marks were ratified as world records.

Cornelius Warmerdam still is ranked in the world all-time top ten list in the M60 Decathlon.

Cornelius Warmerdam went on to coach track and field at Fresno State University until his retirement in 1980.

Cornelius Warmerdam's team won the second NCAA Men's Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, essentially at home at Ratcliffe Stadium.

Cornelius Warmerdam married Juanita Anderson on August 29,1940, and they were married for 61 years until Dutch's death in Fresno, California, from Alzheimer's in 2001.