Pennel, John Thomas

John Pennel, (born July 25, 1940, Memphis, Tenn., U.S.—died Sept. 26, 1993, Santa Monica, Calif.), American pole-vaulter who was the first to jump more than 5.18 m (17 feet) and was a world-record holder (1963, 1966, 1969).

Pennel competed for Northeast Louisiana State College (later Northeast Louisiana University, Monroe) from 1959 through 1963. His 1963 world record was set with a vault of 5.20 m (17 feet ³/₄ inches). He won the pole vault at the Amateur Athletic Union meet in 1965 and regained the world record in 1966 with a vault of 5.34 m. In 1969 he made his highest vault, 5.44 m, and held the world record once more until the following year, when Wolfgang Nordwig of East Germany vaulted 5.45 m. A succession of injuries ended Pennel’s vaulting career.