
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Fred Hansen earns my respect on two fronts: he was a Rice University graduate, and he turned that mind toward the pole vault, one of the most technically brutal events in track. Winning gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics gives him a quiet bond with Japan that I find genuinely moving. The vault is never just power; it's calculus performed at sprint speed, ending with your body flung skyward on a flexing pole. Picturing this Texan raising the American flag over a Tokyo summer more than half a century ago, I feel something close to reverence for athletes who master fear and precision together.
Overview
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.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Fred Hansen
- Name (Japanese)
- フレッド・ハンセン
- Reading
- ふれっど・はんせん
- Born
- January 29, 1940 (age 86)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Dragon
- Origin
- Cuero, Texas, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 183 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- pole vaulter / athletics competitor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Rice University
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Athletics competitor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.