About Fred Hansen
Frederick Morgan Hansen (born December 29, 1940) is an American former athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault. A 1963 graduate of Rice University, he competed in the pole vault for the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, where he won the gold medal. He held the world record in the pole vault for almost 2 years, first set as 5.23 m (17 ft 1+3⁄4 in) on June 13, 1964, and then improved to 5.28 m (17 ft 3+3⁄4 in) on July 25, 1964, at the USA vs USSR dual meet at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. == 1964 Olympics == Going into the 1964 Olympics, the United States had never lost an Olympic pole vault competition. In the final, the last remaining American was Hansen, who at the time was also the world record holder. The field included two other previous world record holders and decathlete C. K. Yang. Hansen cleared 5 meters on his first attempt, but so did three German athletes. Hansen then passed the next height, watching as only Wolfgang Reinhardt was able to clear. Re-entering the competition at 5.10, Hansen failed his first two attempts, but so did Reinhardt. Hansen then sailed over his final attempt, while Reinhart could not.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.