GIL BOTVIN
- May 1
- 2 min read
Updated: May 18
Notre Dame & The Peddie School 1965 -- Pole Vault
Sometimes greatness is followed by more greatness.
The legacy of former Notre Dame High and Peddie School pole vaulter GIlbert Joseph Botvin was inspired by one of the greatest of all-time, two-time Olympic champion Bob RIchards. Hearing about Richards’ feats and seeing him on the back of a Wheaties box in the 1960’s, Botvin switched from high jumping to pole vaulting in his backyard in his middle-school days and the result was arguably the greatest scholastic career, not only in Mercer County history but in New Jersey in the challenging event.
Coached by another Olympic pole vault champion, Don Bragg, Botvin was at the cutting edge technologically of the sport, literally. Beginning with an old bamboo pole, Botvin progressed to what was then a new fiberglass pole, only to have Bragg use a saw to cut it. The adjustment changed Botvin’s flex point and propelled him to greatness.
Botvin was a multi-time record holder among New Jersey scholastic vaulters. While a senior at Peddie, Botvin was the first New Jersey high school vaulter to clear 14 feet in state history. Back when he went 13-2 as a junior at Notre Dame in 1964, he not only claimed a state title but ironically broke Bragg’s state record set 11 years earlier at Penns Grove.
A year later at Peddie, he won the prep state title at 13-6, finally reaching the 14-foot mark at a dual meet at CBA in 1965. His prep mark was 18 inches above the previous state standard and he eventually added an Eastern States title, underlining a career that defined greatness.
Botvin's greatness continued in the professional world after his high school athletic career concluded. He achieved his undergraduate degree while competing for the Raiders of Colgate University. After graduating from Colgate, Botvin earned a Ph.D in psychology from Columbia University. He is currently the Professor Emeritus at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He has served on the faculty at Cornell since 1980.
MAJOR TITLES
Mercer County Champion 1964
NJ Parochial State Champion 1964
NJ All-Group Champion 1964
NJ Prep State Champion 1965
Eastern States Champion 1965
