Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault
The men's pole vault at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 21 competitors, with two qualifying groups before the final took place on Wednesday September 28, 1988.
Three Soviet, French and American athletes made the final, but it was the Soviet bloc that dominated the event, sweeping the medals, with Sergey Bubka already the dominant vaulter. His world record 6.06 set two months earlier, has only been cleared by three other men, 2008 gold medalist Steven Hooker and 2012 gold medalist Renaud Lavillenie, and Armand DuPlantis in 2020 since. But while Bubka would vault in 3 more Olympics and would continue to dominate the World Championships with ultimately 6 consecutive wins, this would be the only Olympic medal he would achieve.Medalists
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1988 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 6.06 |  Sergey Bubka | Nice | July 10, 1988 |
| Olympic Record | 5.78 |  Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz | Moscow | July 30, 1980 |
The following Olympic record was set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Athlete | Height | OR | WR |
| September 28, 1988 | Final | | 5.90m | OR | |
Results
Qualification
Held on Monday September 26, 1988
| Rank | Group | Name | Nationality | 5.10 | 5.20 | 5.30 | 5.40 | 5.45 | 5.50 | 5.55 | Result | Notes |
| 1 | A | Rodion Gataullin | | – | – | – | – | – | o | – | 5.50 | q |
| 1 | A | Sergey Bubka | | – | – | – | – | – | o | – | 5.50 | q |
| 3 | A | Grigoriy Yegorov | | – | – | – | – | o | – | – | 5.45 | q |
| 4 | A | Kory Tarpenning | | – | – | – | o | – | – | x– | 5.40 | q |
| 4 | A | Earl Bell | | – | – | – | o | – | – | x– | 5.40 | q |
| 4 | A | Mirosław Chmara | | – | – | – | o | – | – | – | 5.40 | q |
| 4 | B | Marian Kolasa | | – | – | – | o | – | – | – | 5.40 | q |
| 8 | B | Asko Peltoniemi | | – | – | xxo | o | – | – | – | 5.40 | q |
| 9 | A | Billy Olson | | – | – | – | xo | – | – | – | 5.40 | q |
| 9 | A | Philippe Collet | | – | – | – | xo | – | – | – | 5.40 | q |
| 9 | A | Hermann Fehringer | | – | – | o | xo | – | – | – | 5.40 | q |
| 9 | B | Zdeněk Lubenský | | – | o | o | xo | – | – | – | 5.40 | q |
| 9 | B | Philippe d'Encausse | | – | o | – | xo | – | – | – | 5.40 | q |
| 9 | B | István Bagyula | | o | o | o | xo | – | – | – | 5.40 | q |
| 15 | B | Thierry Vigneron | | o | o | xo | xo | – | – | – | 5.40 | q |
| 16 | B | Kim Chul-Kyun | | xo | xo | xo | xxx | | | | 5.30 | |
| 17 | B | Paul Just | | xo | o | xxo | xxx | | | | 5.30 | |
| A | Atanas Tarev | | – | – | – | xxx | | | | ' | |
| B | Lee Jae-bok | | xxx | | | | | | | ' | |
| B | Javier García | | xxx | | | | | | | ' | |
| B | Andy Ashurst | | xxx | | | | | | | ' | |
Final
Held on Wednesday September 28, 1988.
| Rank | Name | Nationality | 5.10 | 5.25 | 5.40 | 5.50 | 5.60 | 5.65 | 5.70 | 5.75 | 5.80 | 5.85 | 5.90 | 5.95 | 6.10 | Result | Notes |
| Sergey Bubka | | – | – | – | – | – | – | xo | – | – | – | xxo | – | x | 5.90 | OR |
| Rodion Gataullin | | – | – | – | – | – | – | o | – | – | xxo | – | xxx | | 5.85 | |
| Grigoriy Yegorov | | – | – | – | o | – | – | xo | – | o | – | xxx | | | 5.80 | |
| Earl Bell | | – | – | o | – | o | – | o | xxx | | | | | | 5.70 | |
| Thierry Vigneron | | – | xo | – | o | o | – | xo | x | | | | | | 5.70 | |
| Philippe Collet | | – | – | – | xo | – | – | xo | xxx | | | | | | 5.70 | |
| István Bagyula | | o | o | o | o | o | xxx | | | | | | | | 5.60 | |
| Philippe d'Encausse | | – | – | o | x– | xo | – | xxx | | | | | | | 5.60 | |
| Asko Peltoniemi | | – | – | o | – | xxo | – | xxx | | | | | | | 5.60 | |
| 10 | Kory Tarpenning | | – | – | – | o | – | xxx | | | | | | | | 5.50 | |
| 11 | Zdeněk Lubenský | | – | xo | – | o | – | xxx | | | | | | | | 5.50 | |
| 12 | Billy Olson | | – | – | – | xxo | – | xxx | | | | | | | | 5.50 | |
| 13 | Hermann Fehringer | | – | o | o | xxx | | | | | | | | | | 5.40 | |
| Mirosław Chmara | | – | – | – | – | xxx | | | | | | | | | ' | |
| Marian Kolasa | | – | – | – | xxx | | | | | | | | | | ' | |
