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Nick Buckfield

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Nick Buckfield
Personal information
NationalityBritish (English)
Born (1973-06-05) 5 June 1973 (age 52)
Crawley, West Sussex, England
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight77.5 kg (171 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventPole vault
ClubCrawley AC

Nicholas Jean Buckfield (born 5 June 1973) is a former pole vaulter from England who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics.[1]

Biography

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During his youth he was a talented footballer, turning down a youth training contract with Aldershot F.C. at the age of 16.[2] He was educated at Brunel University London, where he studied Religious Studies and Sports Sciences.[3]

He finished fifth in the 1997 World Championships and narrowly missed out on medals at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.[4]

Buckfield was a five-times British pole vault champion after winning the British AAA Championships title in 1995, 1996, 2002, 2003 and 2005.[5][6]

His personal best jump was 5.80 metres, achieved in May 1998 in Chania. This was a British national record, which he held for 14 years until Steven Lewis broke it in 2012.[7] His indoor best was 5.81 metres, achieved in February 2002 in Bad Segeberg. This was also a British national record, and stood for 12 years until it was bettered by Luke Cutts in 2014.[2][8]

His career suffered setbacks due to a series of injuries, fracturing his pelvis whilst competing at the 1998 European Athletics Championships,[2] suffering an abdominal injury after falling onto his pole at a meeting in Cottbus in 2004,[9] and sustaining an Achilles tendon rupture in 2006. He retired from competition in 2008.[4]

Competition record

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  Great Britain and  England
1992 World Junior Championships Seoul, South Korea 12th 4.90 m
1994 Commonwealth Games Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 8th 5.20 m
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 17th (q) 5.55 m
1996 European Indoor Championships Stockholm, Sweden 7th 5.55 m
Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 21st (q) 5.40 m
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece 5th 5.70 m
1998 European Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 17th (q) 5.55 m
European Championships Budapest, Hungary 17th (q) 5.30 m
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan – NM
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 22nd (q) 5.30 m
2002 European Indoor Championships Vienna, Austria 14th (q) 5.40 m
Commonwealth Games Manchester, United Kingdom 4th 5.50 m
2003 World Championships Paris, France 21st (q) 5.50 m
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 21st (q) 5.60 m
2005 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 15th (q) 5.40 m
2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia 4th 5.35 m

References

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  1. ^ "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Turnbull, Simon (20 February 2002). "Athletics: Buckfield lifts Britain out of the pole vault wilderness". independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Brunel athletes head for Melbourne". Brunel University London. 3 February 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b Hollis, Steve (26 August 2008). "Buckfield bows out with regrets". The Argus (Brighton). Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  5. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  6. ^ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  7. ^ "London 2012: Steven Lewis breaks British pole vault record". bbc.co.uk. 22 July 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Luke Cutts & John Lane set new British records". bbc.co.uk. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Buckfield in hospital". bbc.co.uk. 10 June 2004. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
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