Jeff Hartwig

From the very beginning, Gill has empowered coaches & athletes, and elevated the sport of track and field. We continue to push ourselves and we would not be able to do that without the amazing team we have assembled over the years. We would like to start recognizing some of the Gill team members that work hard to make us who we are. We’ll start with a familiar face…Jeff Hartwig.

Jeff is an award-winning record-setting pole vaulter from St. Louis. Among his many accomplishments, starting in 1998 he set a new American record and then kept breaking his own record (winning both national and international championships) until it stayed at 6.03m in 2000. It took another 19 years for it to be broken by Sam Kendricks. Jeff also competed in two Olympics. What makes this a little different though is that these two Olympics were 12 years apart (1996 & 2008). During his second Olympic trials he received the title of world’s best performance for men over 40 (he holds the same title for men over 35 from 2004).  

Jeff has shown to be among one of the best and has gained the respect from athletes and everyone at Gill. This is why we brought him on as one of our Brand Ambassadors once we started to sponsor elite pole vaulters. We knew he would help us find and manage the best athletes to represent our Pacer poles. He knows the sport and you can often find him at certain event helping to coach the next generation of vaulters to the raise the bar. He’s been a great addition to the team who brings so much knowledge and love of the sport.