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ent001476-027

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ent001476-027
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    University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Libraries

    CITY OP HOPE Public Relations Dept. 626-4611. (Hank Brown) (Suggested Column Material) CORNELIUS WARMERDAM When the great Cornelius Warmerdam receives his "Victor?ǥ on June 28, at the Sportsmen's World Awards Presentations at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, many older sports fans will recall the thrills they felt when it was learned a man had. actually pole-vaulted fifteen feet] Warmerdam, who vaulted, in the days when the bamboo pole was required, equipment, did not enjoy the benefit of modern materials that give an added spring to a vaulter's efforts. He also missed out on valuable training, since he did not go in for pole vaulting until after he graduated from Fresno State College. Then, with special effort and arduous training, Warmerdam mastered the technique enough to become the first fifteen-foot vaulter. Warmerdam first reached the fifteen-foot mark at Berkeley, California, on April 13, 1940. He reached or exceeded that height an additional 42 titties before any other vaulter was able to.clear fifteen feet even once] In competition, Warmerdam represented the Olympic Club of San Francisco and, during World War II, the U.S. Navy. He was National A.A.U. outdoor champion for seven out of the eight years from 1937 to 1944, and. held the National A.A.U. indoor pole vaulting crown twice. He established a world record for the pole vault in 1940, with a mark of 15' 1/8", then proceeded, to break his own mark in the two succeeding years, with vaults of 15' 5 3/4" and 13' 7 3/4", respectively. Warmerdam presently is the track and field, coach at Fresno State College. He will be honored as one of eleven all-time great athletes from the world of sports by the Sportsmen's Club for the City of Hope, with proceeds from the event going to support that facility in its fight against catastrophic maladies. The Sportsmen's World. Awards Presentations will be syndicated for national television by Metromedia Producers Corp., with honorees and other distinguished guests flown to Las Vegas from all over the world, by Trans World Airlines. # # #