| Jacob Wooten | |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | Pole vault |
| Hometown: | Tomball, Texas |
| Coach: | Sean Brady |
| Education: | Tomball Memorial High School Texas A&M University |
| Collegeteam: | Texas A&M Aggies[1] |
| Updated: | 1 January 2024 |
Jacob Wooten (born 22 April 1997) is an American pole vaulter. He was the runner-up at the 2023 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the pole vault.
Wooten is from Tomball, Texas where he attended Tomball Memorial High School. He won the 2014 University Interscholastic League Division 5A state meet in the pole vault, as well as the 2015 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships.
From 2016 to 2019, Wooten competed on the Texas A&M Aggies track and field team. He made seven NCAA finals appearances, with a best finish of 3rd at the 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. At those championships, the meet officials mistakenly set the bar two inches too high, causing confusion and requiring a re-do of that round of vaulting. Texas A&M coach Pat Henry said that the mistake "cost" Wooten, and that it was "not a good situation".[2]
In February 2020, Wooten jumped a personal best of 5.90 metres at the International Urban Pole Vault Meeting in Mexico City. Though both Wooten and Mat Ludwing cleared the height, Wooten cleared on his second attempt white Ludwing cleared on his third, giving Wooten the win and $2500 prize. The mark was the highest jump ever achieved on Mexican soil, equalling Toby Stevenson's height from 2005.[3] After previously using just six or seven lefts, Wooten used a new "eight lefts" technique to set the personal best, stepping eight times with his left foot for an extended sprint on the vault runway.[4]
Wooten achieved his first USA Championships medal at the 2023 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, finishing second to Sam Kendricks. Wooten led through the first five heights, including setting an indoor 5.86 m personal best on his first attempt which placed him 10th on the U.S. all-time indoor list. However, Kendricks passed on his third attempt at 5.86 m and cleared a facility record 5.91 m on his final attempt, giving him the title over Wooten.[5]