Lat Stones

British pole vaulter (1865–1927)

Ernest Latimer Stones (1865–1927) was an English amateur track and field athlete, who broke the world record for the pole vault at the Northern Counties Championships at Southport in June 1888. He cleared 11 feet 7 inches (3.53m) to beat by three-eighths of an inch the record then held by Thomas Ray of Ulverston. The record lasted for three years and one month until Richard Dickinson cleared 11 feet 9 inches (3.58m) at Kidderminster in July 1891.[1]

Born in Ulverston, Lancashire in 1865, after moving to Bootle, Liverpool, Stones tied the AAA championship in 1888 and won it outright in 1889. He won the Scottish Championships three times in succession, 1887, 1888, and 1889. In the latter year, he set a Scottish National record that was not beaten until 1930.[2] He won the Canadian and Irish Championships both once,[3] and is the only Briton ever to win a United States pole vault title, winning the Amateur Athletic Union Championship at Travers Island, New York in September 1889.[4] He died on 20 Oct 1927 at 267 Knowsley Road, Bootle. His wife of 35 years, Mary Elizabeth (née Goodall) survived him.

References

  1. ^ World Record Progressions, Richard Hymans (2015)
  2. ^ Scottish Athletics 1883-1983, John W. Keddie (1982)
  3. ^ "Cringing Cult of Celebrity in Bootle, Merseyside". Know Where. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  4. ^ United States Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-07-01.
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US National Championship winners in men's pole vault
1876–1878
New York Athletic Club
  • 1877: George McNichol
  • 1878: Alfred Ing
1879–1888
NAAAA
  • 1879–81: William Van Houten
  • 1882: B.F. Richardson
  • 1883–86: Hugh Baxter
  • 1887: Tom Ray (GBR) & Hugh Baxter
  • 1888Note 1: G.B. Quinn
1888–1979
Amateur Athletic Union
1980–1992
The Athletics Congress
1993–onwards
USA Track & Field
Notes
  • Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
  • OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
  • 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


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