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Official second-place winner’s diploma issued to America’s Bob Gutowski in the pole vault at the Melbourne 1956 Summer Olympics, 23 x 17.5, with Olympic rings, Melbourne coat of arms, and bold text: “Diploma, Olympic Games Melbourne 1956, 2nd, Athletics – Pole Vault, R. Gutowski, – U.S.A.” The lower section bears the facsimile signature of three Olympic officials. In very good to fine condition, with toning from prior display, creases, and mounting tape to reverse edges.
Robert ‘Bob’ Gutowski (1935–1960) was an American athlete who competed for the United States in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia, in the Pole Vault where he won the silver medal. He attended Occidental College in Los Angeles where he won the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1956 (tied) and 1957. He set the World Record in the pole vault on April 27, 1957, and later in 1957 he cleared the highest height ever with a ‘straight’ pole at 15' 9.75", though that mark was never ratified as a World Record because the pole passed under the bar. Tragically, Gutowski died at the age of 25 when he was killed in a head-on collision by a drunk driver at Camp Pendleton while serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserves.
