Lee Barnes

Lee Stratford Barnes (* July 16, 1906 in Salt Lake City, Utah, † December 28, 1970 in Oxnard, California ) was an American track and field athlete. At a height of 1.73 m his competition weight was 68 kg.

Lee Barnes won a week before his eighteenth birthday, the gold medal in the pole vault at the 1924 Olympic Games in Colombes near Paris. With 3.95 meters, he jumped the same height as his compatriot Glenn Graham, but won the jump-off. Lee Barnes is the youngest Olympic champion in the pole vault at all.

For the study, he went to the University of Southern California and trained there under Dean Cromwell. 1927 and 1928 he won the title at the championships of the Amateur Athletic Union. On April 28, 1928 Barnes set a world record of 4.30 meters in Fresno. In the 1928 Olympics he was not in top form and was 3.95 meters fifth. Although he jumped the same height as the third and fourth of the competition, but in contrast to his Olympic victory, he lost this time the jump.

1932 Barnes missed his third Olympic participation as seventh in the U.S. Trials. After his career, he led his own factory in Oxnard.