| Nick Buckfield | |
| Nationality: | English |
| Birth Date: | 5 June 1973 |
| Birth Place: | Crawley, West Sussex |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Club: | Crawley AC |
Nicholas ("Nick") Jean Buckfield (born 5 June 1973) is an English former pole vaulter.
During his youth he was a talented footballer, turning down a youth training contract with Aldershot F.C. at the age of 16. He was educated at Brunel University London, where he studied Religious Studies and Sports Sciences.[1] He finished fifth in the 1997 World Championships and narrowly missed out on medals at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.[2] His career suffered setbacks due to a series of injuries, fracturing his pelvis whilst competing at the 1998 European Athletics Championships,[3] suffering an abdominal injury after falling onto his pole at a meeting in Cottbus in 2004,[4] and sustaining an Achilles tendon rupture in 2006. He retired from competition in 2008.
His personal best jump was 5.80 metres, achieved in May 1998 in Chania. This was a British national record, which he held for 14 years until Steven Lewis broke it in 2012.[5] His indoor best was 5.81 metres, achieved in February 2002 in Bad Segeberg. This was also a British national record, and stood for 12 years until it was bettered by Luke Cutts in 2014.[6]
| Representing and | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Seoul, South Korea | 12th | 4.90 m | ||
| 1994 | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | 8th | 5.20 m | ||
| 1995 | Gothenburg, Sweden | 17th (q) | 5.55 m | ||
| 1996 | European Indoor Championships | Stockholm, Sweden | 7th | 5.55 m | |
| Atlanta, United States | 21st (q) | 5.40 m | |||
| 1997 | Athens, Greece | 5th | 5.70 m | ||
| 1998 | European Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 17th (q) | 5.55 m | |
| European Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 17th (q) | 5.30 m | ||
| 1999 | World Indoor Championships | Maebashi, Japan | – | NM | |
| 2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | 22nd (q) | 5.30 m | |
| 2002 | European Indoor Championships | Vienna, Austria | 14th (q) | 5.40 m | |
| Manchester, United Kingdom | 4th | 5.50 m | |||
| 2003 | World Championships | Paris, France | 21st (q) | 5.50 m | |
| 2004 | Athens, Greece | 21st (q) | 5.60 m | ||
| 2005 | European Indoor Championships | Madrid, Spain | 15th (q) | 5.40 m | |
| 2006 | Melbourne, Australia | 4th | 5.35 m | ||