George Varoff

George Dimitri Varoff (March 25, 1914 – January 10, 2002) was an American pole vaulter.

Early life

Varoff was born in Hawaii to Ukrainian immigrants and grew up in San Francisco, where he competed for Balboa High School.^[1]^[2] After high school, he attended the University of Oregon to train under track coach Bill Hayward.^[3]

World record

On July 4, 1936, Varoff vaulted 14 ft 6 ¹⁄₂ in (4.43 m) at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)'s national championship meet, setting a new world record. However, the Olympic Trials were held separately the following week; at the Trials, Varoff only placed fourth and failed to qualify for the United States team for the 1936 Olympics.^[4] Varoff won the AAU championship again in 1939; he set his personal best, 14 ft 7 ⁵⁄₈ in (4.46 m), at the 1937 AAU meet, but lost on countback as three other men also cleared the same height.^[5]^[6] With the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympics due to World War II, he never competed in the Olympics.

World War II

Varoff joined the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and achieved the rank of Captain. His B-29 was shot down over China and reported as missing in action on December 7, 1944. He returned safely to his base six weeks later.^[7] He later reported that he and his crew had to bail out over China following a bombing mission.^[8]

Legacy

Following the war, Varoff returned to San Francisco. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.^[9] He died in San Antonio, Texas on January 10, 2002.^[3]

References

↑ "Records at Princeton". Time Magazine. July 13, 1936. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
↑ "San Francisco (AAA) Finals - 1915 thru 2002". Dystatcal.com. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
1 2 "Ex-pole vaulter Varoff dead at 87". CNNSI.com. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
↑ Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
↑ "George Varoff". Track and Field Statistics. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
↑ Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian; Track & Field News. "A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2015". Track & Field News. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
↑ "Capt. George Varoff safe". New York Times. January 17, 1945. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
↑ "Card Farm Pitcher Cited". New York Times. April 6, 1945. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
↑ "Inductees: Track and Field". Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-10.

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 1888^{Note 1}: G.B. Quinn

1888–1979 Amateur Athletic Union	1888^{Note 1}: Lincoln Godshall 1889: Lat Stones (GBR) & D.F. O'Brien 1890: Walter Rodenbaugh 1891–92: Theodore Luce 1893–94: Christian Buchholz 1895: Hermann Thomas 1896: Franklin Allis 1897: Jesse Hurlburt 1898: Raymond Clapp 1899: Irving Baxter 1900: Bascom Johnson 1901: Charles Dvorak 1902: August Anderson 1903: Charles Dvorak 1904: H.L. Gardner 1905: Roy Heater 1906: LeRoy Samse 1907: Ed Cook 1908: William Halpenny (CAN) & Claude Allen 1909: Roy Paulding 1910: Harry Babcock 1911: Ed Cook, Frank Coyle & Sam Bellah 1912: Harry Babcock 1913: Stanley Wagoner 1914: Ken Curtis 1915: Sam Bellah 1916: Sherman Landers 1917: Edward Knourek 1918: Carl Buck 1919–20: Frank Foss 1921–22: Edward Knourek 1923–24: Edwin Myers 1925: Harry Smith 1926: Paul Harrington 1927–28: Lee Barnes 1929–30: Fred Sturdy 1931: Jack Wool 1932: Bill Graber 1933: Keith Brown & Matt Gordy 1934: Keith Brown, Bill Graber & Wirt Thompson 1935: Earle Meadows & Bill Sefton 1936: George Varoff 1937: Bill Sefton 1938: Cornelius Warmerdam 1939: George Varoff 1940–44: Cornelius Warmerdam 1945: Boo Morcom & Robert Phelps 1946: Irving Moore 1947: Boo Morcom 1948: Boo Morcom & Bob Richards 1949–51: Bob Richards 1952: Bob Richards & Don Laz 1953: Don Laz & George Mattos 1954–57: Bob Richards 1958: Ron Morris 1959: Don Bragg 1960: Aubrey Dooley 1961–62: Ron Morris 1963: Brian Sternberg 1964: Fred Hansen 1965: John Pennel 1966: Bob Seagren 1967: Paul Wilson 1968: Dick Railsback 1969–70: Bob Seagren 1971: Jan Johnson 1972: Dave Roberts 1973: Mike Cotton 1974: Dave Roberts 1975: Don Baird (AUS) * Terry Porter 1976: Earl Bell 1977: Mike Tully 1978: Dan Ripley 1979: Mike Tully

1980–1992 The Athletics Congress	1980: Tom Hintnaus 1981: Billy Olson 1982: Dan Ripley & Billy Olson 1983: Jeff Buckingham 1984: Earl Bell 1985: Joe Dial 1986: Mike Tully 1987: Joe Dial 1988–89: Kory Tarpenning 1990: Earl Bell 1991–92: Tim Bright

1993–onwards USA Track & Field	1993–95: Scott Huffman 1996–97: Lawrence Johnson 1998–99: Jeff Hartwig 2000–01: Lawrence Johnson 2002–03: Jeff Hartwig 2004: Tim Mack 2005: Brad Walker 2006: Russ Buller 2007: Brad Walker 2008: Derek Miles 2009: Brad Walker 2010: Mark Hollis 2011: Derek Miles 2012–13: Brad Walker 2014–16: Sam Kendricks

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.

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