GIL BOTVIN: MERCER'S RECORD SETTING VAULTER
- mercertrackhall
- Dec 3, 2025
- 5 min read
Published 12/3/25
Setting records was a habit for pole vaulter Gil Botvin. The Notre Dame and Peddie alumnus was not only the best high school vaulter in New Jersey during the mid-1960s, he was also better than anyone in the history of the state. By the end of his high school career he had won multiple major championships and raised the all-time state record more than once--eventually becoming the first NJ high schooler to clear 14 feet. That is why when the Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame hosts its annual spring awards dinner on May 17th of 2026, Gil Botvin will be honored as a member of the Induction Class of 2026. In this article he tells the story of his track and field journey in his own words.
Q: What age were you when you started vaulting?
Gil Botvin: I started vaulting around the 7th or 8th grade, when I was still in elementary school. I taught myself, and began vaulting in my backyard.
Q: First, were you on steel or fiberglass in high school? How did your vaulting evolve as far as using different poles?
Gil Botvin: Believe it or not, I started out on a bamboo pole that a friend of my father’s had. It came in a rug he bought.
Bamboo
I was in the seventh or eighth grade at the time. I had been high jumping into a pit I made in my back yard. But after seeing Bob Richards on Wheaties boxes, I was inspired to try pole vaulting. So I started fooling around with the bamboo pole, and taught myself to pole vault in my backyard. However, one of the downsides of teaching myself is that I learned to vault the way a left-handed person would, even though I am right-handed.
Aluminum
After I showed an interest in pole vaulting and some early signs of promise, my parents bought me an aluminum pole. At that time, pole vaulters were mostly using aluminum poles, and some were using Swedish steel poles. Within a few years, I was one of the best pole vaulters in New Jersey. As a sophomore, I was in the top ten in the state.
Fiberglass
I used an aluminum pole for a few years and then, after fiberglass poles started to be widely used, I switched over to fiberglass. That was a surprisingly difficult transition. The technique and timing needed to vault on fiberglass were quite a bit different from what I had learned on an aluminum pole.
But eventually I got it.
Q: Did you have a vault coach?
Gil Botvin: Don Bragg. A friend of my dad’s, Bernie Daly, introduced me to Don Bragg — Olympic champion and World Record holder in the pole vault, as I’m sure you know. He took an interest in me, came to my home on many occasions, and started coaching me.
One time, shortly after my parents bought me a new fiberglass pole, Don Bragg came to my house. Because of the way the poles were made at the time, they were designed to flex at a certain point on the pole. Don Bragg felt that the pole I had was too stiff for me and asked my dad for a saw. Although my dad wasn’t sure why Don Bragg wanted a saw, he got it anyway. My dad was shocked at what happened next.
Don Bragg took the saw and proceeded to cut off the end of my brand new $65 fiberglass pole. In theory, he explained, that would change the flex point and make it easier for me to bend the pole. My dad looked like he was going to pass out as Don Bragg cut about a foot off the pole. And it turned out he was right! The pole was much easier for me to use.
Q: Can you discuss some of your championship experiences?
Gil Botvin:
NJ State Champion
As a junior at Notre Dame High School, I went on to become state champion in my division, win the champion of champions meet the following week, and set a new state record of 13’2” which broke the record set by Don Bragg as a NJ schoolboy from Penns Grove.
NJ State Champion (Prep)
The following year I transferred to The Peddie School, in Hightstown. That year, I also won the state championship — this time in the prep school division. That year I believe I did 14’3” or 14’6” during the spring outdoor season. I don’t recall my winning height at the state championship meet.
(Note: Botvin's Prep State win was at 13'6". He cleared 14 feet for the first time at a dual vs CBA on May 25, 1965. See article clippings below)
East Coast Champion
As fate would have it, the Eastern Interscholastic Track and Field Championship Meet was on the same day as my graduation from Peddie. Although I wasn’t able to skip graduation, the headmaster did agree to let me leave graduation early — after my name was called and I received my diploma. Fortunately, my name put me at the beginning of the alphabet and among the first seniors to receive their diplomas.
As soon as I received my diploma, I raced out of graduation and over to the parking lot where my dad was waiting in our car. We then headed for the NJ Turnpike on our way to New York City’s Randall’s Island, over an hour away. During the trip I changed into my track clothes and hoped we’d make it in time for me to compete. But I don’t think either one of us thought I’d make it in time.
When we arrived at the stadium on Randall’s Island, the pole vault event was nearly over, with only a few contestants left. Even though I was late, the officials agreed to let me compete — but I had to start at the current height (which I believe was around 12’). I quickly warmed up and measured out my steps. And missed on my first two jumps! But I made it on my third try, and went on to win at 13’7 1/2”.
Q: Where did you attend college?
Gil Botvin: Colgate. I had the opportunity to go to Villanova and a few other schools that would have been a better choice for pole vaulting than a school in upstate New York. Colgate was (and still is) an excellent liberal arts school. I got a fabulous education. But it had limited indoor facilities and, due to the weather, it had a very short outdoor season. So, for me, choosing Colgate meant choosing academics over sports. I competed on the varsity team all four years at Colgate. But never vaulted higher than I did in high school.
Q: When did you retire from vaulting?
Gil Botvin: I retired from vaulting after college.
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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,
On the impact impact that track and field had on his life, Botvin said the folowing:
"I truly believe that becoming a two-time state champion in the pole vault and Eastern Interscholastic Champion created an awakening in me that ultimately contributed to my success later in life. It changed my self image and gave me the confidence, discipline, fortitude, and perseverance to succeed in other aspects of my life — as a graduate student at Columbia, as a behavior scientist at Cornell’s medical school, as an entrepreneur, and as a father. " -Gil Botvin
Botvin along with 17 other past Mercer County track and field greats will be formally inducted into the MCTF Hall of Fame on Sunday May 17th, 2026 at Mercer Oaks. For RSVP information, go to our banquet page HERE.
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