Christos Papanikolaou (Greek: Χρήστος Παπανικολάου, born 25 November 1941) is a retired Greek pole vaulter. On 25 October 1970, he set the world record at 5.49 m (18 ft 0 in), significant to Americans as the first man to pole vault 18 feet. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and finished in 18th, 4th and 11th place, respectively. He won a silver medal at the 1966 European Championships. He was a two-time champion at the Mediterranean Games. He was named the Greek Athlete of the Year, for the years 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1970.