Warmerdam was born inLong Beach, California, the son ofDutch emigrants Adrianus and Gertrude Warmerdam. He grew up inHanford, California. Because of his ancestry he was more commonly known to both friends and, later, to the media as "Dutch".
Warmerdam got his start in pole vaulting in his backyard using the limb of apeach tree and landing in a pit of piled up dirt. He was discovered by the local track coach and vaulted forHanford High School until his graduation in 1932, after which he attended and vaulted for Fresno State College.
Vaulting throughout his career with abamboo pole, Warmerdam was the first vaulter to clear 15 feet (4.6 m), accomplishing that feat at UC Berkeley on April 13, 1940. However, that achievement was not ratified for a world record, and his later vault of 4.60 m on June 29, 1940, was the first ratified jump over 15 feet. During his career, Warmerdam vaulted 15 feet 43 times in competition, while no other vaulter cleared the mark a single time. Warmerdam surpassed the pole vault record seven times in a four-year span, and three of those marks were ratified as world records. His highest outdoor vault was 15 ft7+3⁄4 in (4.769 m), achieved at theModesto Relays in 1942,[6] a record which stood until 1957 whenBob Gutowski broke the mark using a metal pole. Warmerdam won theJames E. Sullivan Award in 1942, but was never able to compete in theOlympics because the 1940 and 1944 games were cancelled due to World War II, and by 1948 he was coaching professionally and therefore ineligible. However, he continued competing as an early practitioner ofMasters athletics. He still is ranked in the world all-time top ten list in the M60 Decathlon.[7]
Warmerdam married Juanita Anderson on August 29, 1940, and they were married for 61 years until Dutch's death inFresno, California, fromAlzheimer's in 2001.[3] Juanita continued to live in Fresno until her death onValentine's Day in 2006. They left behind five children (Mark, Greg, Gloria, David, and Barry) and twenty grandchildren.
Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
