Charles Edward Dvorak (November 27, 1878 – December 18, 1969) was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the pole vault. He attended the University of Michigan where he competed for the Michigan Wolverines men's track and field team from 1900 to 1904. He participated in the 1900 Summer Olympics where he was a favorite in the pole vault. However, he missed the competition after being told by officials that the finals would be held on a Sunday. He won a special silver medal in a consolation competition. In 1903, he set a world's record in the pole vault with a jump of 11 feet, 11 inches.(This mark doesn't appear in the progression of World or American Records). Dvorak returned to international competition and won the gold medal in the pole vault at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Dvorak later served as a high school football, basketball and track coach in Seattle, Washington, where he died in 1969 at age 91.
Early years
Dvorak was born in Chicago in 1878. He was the son of Frank E. and Antoinette (Hrdlicka) Dvorak. Dvorak attended the Lewis Institute in Chicago, considered the first junior college in the United States. The Encyclopedia of Ethnicity and Sports in the United States credits Dvorak as being one of the earliest Americans of Czech descent to achieve significant success in athletics.
University of Michigan
In approximately 1898, Dvorak transferred to the University of Michigan as a junior in the Department of Literature, Science and Arts. While attending Michigan over the following six years, Dvorak was captain of the track team, vice-president of the Republican Club, athletic editor of the University of Michigan Daily, editor of the U. of M. Republican, and a member of the Comedy Club, the Board of Control, the Gymnasium Team, the Social Committee, the Fencing Club, and the Hawks.
Before enrolling at Michigan, Dvorak had competed in the pole vault, achieving a height of 9 feet, 6 inches. At Michigan, Dvorak worked with track coach Keene Fitzpatrick, who has been credited with inventing modern pole-vaulting technique. Fitzpatrick taught Dvorak to grasp the pole with his hands close together, resulting in a significant increase in the heights Dvorak was able to clear.
In 1901, Dvorak won the first Western Conference pole vault championship with a jump of 11 feet, 6 inches. After the 1901 season, Dvorak received his bachelor's degree as a member of the University of Michigan's literary class of 1901. He returned in the fall as a student in Michigan's law department, earning his law degree in 1904. Dvorak was a member of four consecutive Western Conference championship track teams from 1901 to 1904 and was the conference pole vault champion in both 1901 and 1903. He won the 1903 conference championship with a vault of 11 feet, 9 inches, breaking the intercollegiate record of 11 feet, 6-1/2 inches held by Chapman of Drake.
In May 1903, Dvorak set a world's record in the pole vault with a jump of 11 feet, 11 inches. He reportedly often cleared 12 feet in practice.
1900 Summer Olympics
In 1900, funds were solicited from faculty, students, alumni and Ann Arbor businessmen to send Dvorak, three other Michigan track athletes, and Coach Fitzpatrick to the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. In Paris, Dvorak missed the event finals following a controversy over the scheduling of certain event finals for a Sunday. Several American athletes agreed they would not violate Sabbath. The pole vault, in which Dvorak was a favorite, was one of the events scheduled for Sunday. Two of the Americans (Dvorak and Bascom Johnson) nevertheless went to the Racing Club grounds where the event was to be held. They were told not to worry, that the event had been rescheduled. The officials later changed their decision, and the event was held after Dvorak and Johnson had left. Irving Baxter won the competition with a jump of 10 feet, 10 inches. Because of the confusion, a special, albeit unofficial, competition was arranged for the athletes who had not participated in the Sunday event. Dvorak took the silver medal in the special competition with a jump of 11 feet, 1-3/4 inches.
On his return from Paris, Fitzpatrick praised the American athletes and criticized Paris officials for holding key event finals on a Sunday: "The Americans showed themselves superior in every kind of track athletics. They won practically everything. We felt keenly the breach of faith in holding the Paris games on Sunday, but we could do nothing more than make a formal protest."