High jump
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The high jump is an athletics (track and field) event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of any devices. It has been contested since the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. Over the centuries since, competitors have introduced increasingly more effective techniques to arrive at the current form. Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) is both the indoor and outdoor world record holder in this event with jumps of 2.43 m (8 feet) and 2.45 m (8 feet ½ inch), respectively. Sotomayor's record, set in 1993, is the longest standing in the history of the men's high jump. Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) has held the women's world record since 1987, the longest standing record in the sport.
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[edit] History
The high jump predated the Olympics in ancient Greece[citation needed]. The first recorded high jump event took place in Scotland in the 19th century, with heights of up to (1.68 m) contested. Early jumpers used either an elaborate straight-on approach or a scissors technique. In the latter, the bar was approached diagonally, and the jumper threw first the inside leg and then the other over the bar in a scissoring motion. Around the turn of the 20th century, techniques began to modernise, starting with the Irish-American M.F. Sweeney's Eastern cut-off. By taking off as if with the scissors, but extending his back and flattening out over the bar, the Sweeney achieved a more economic clearance and raised the world record to 6' 5⅝" (1.97 m) in 1895.
Another American, M.F. Horine, developed an even more efficient technique, the 'Western roll'. In this style, the bar again is approached on a diagonal, but the inner leg is used for the take-off, while the outer leg is thrust up to lead the body sideways over the bar. Horine increased the world standard to 6' 7" (2.01 m) in 1912. His technique predominated through the Berlin Olympics of 1936, in which the event was won by Cornelius Johnson at 2.03 m (6' 8").
American and Russian jumpers held the playing field for the next four decades, and they pioneered the evolution of the straddle technique. Straddle jumpers took off as in the Western roll, but rotated their (belly-down) torso around the bar, obtaining the most economical clearance to date. Straddle-jumper Charles Dumas broke the elusive 7' (2.13 m) barrier in 1956, and American wunderkind John Thomas pushed the world mark to 2.23 m (7' 3¾") in 1960. Valeriy Brumel took over the event for the next four years. The elegant Soviet jumper radically sped up his approach run, took the record up to 2.28 m (7' 5¾"), and won the Olympic gold medal in 1964, before a motorcycle accident ended his career.
American coaches, including two-time NCAA champion Frank Costello of the University of Maryland, flocked to Russia to learn from Brumel and his coaches. However, it would be a solitary innovator at Oregon State University, Dick Fosbury, who would bring the high jump into the next century. Taking advantage of the raised, softer landing areas by then in use, Fosbury added a new twist to the outmoded Eastern Cut-off. He directed himself over the bar head and shoulders first sliding over on his back and landing in a fashion which would likely have broken his neck in the old sawdust landing pits. After he used this Fosbury flop to win the 1968 Olympic gold medal, the technique began to spread around the world, and soon floppers were dominating international high jump competitions. The last straddler to set a world record was the late Vladimir Yashchenko, who cleared 2.33 m (7' 7¾") in 1977 and then 2.35 m (7' 8½") indoors in 1978.
Among renowned high jumpers following Fosbury's lead were: Americans Dwight Stones and his rival, 5' 8" (1.73 m) Franklin Jacobs of Paterson, NJ, who cleared 2.32 m (7' 7¼"), an astounding two feet (0.59 m) over his head; Chinese record-setters Ni-chi Chin and Zhu Jianhua; Germans Gerd Wessig and Dietmar Mögenburg; Swedish Olympic medalist and world record holder Patrik Sjöberg; and female jumpers Iolanda Balaş of Romania, Ulrike Meyfarth of Germany and Italy's Sara Simeoni.
[edit] High jump shoes
High jump shoes are different from most other track shoes in that there are an additional one to four holes in the heel of the takeoff shoe, where the user can insert spikes for increased traction. As in the pole vault, heel strike in the high jump is important for lift-off as it allows the user to efficiently transfer energy. In addition, heel spikes aid greatly in the last four to five steps of the approach. The takeoff shoe has a thicker and more rigid sole than the non-takeoff shoe. IAAF regulations specify a maximum sole thickness for both high jump and long jump shoes; competitors in all other events may wear shoes with soles of any thickness.
[edit] Top performers
[edit] Men (outdoor)
[edit] Women (outdoor)
| Mark | Athlete | Nationality | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.09 | Stefka Kostadinova |  Bulgaria |
Rome | August 30, 1987 |
| 2.07 | Blanka Vlašić |  Croatia |
Stockholm | August 7, 2007 |
| Lyudmila Andonova | Bulgaria |
Berlin | July 20, 1984 | |
| 2.06 | Kajsa Bergqvist |  Sweden |
Eberstadt | July 26, 2003 |
| Hestrie Cloete |  South Africa |
Paris | August 31, 2003 | |
| Yelena Slesarenko |  Russia |
Athens | August 28, 2004 | |
| 2.05 | Tamara Bykova |  Soviet Union / Russia |
Kiev | June 22, 1984 |
| Heike Henkel |  Germany |
Tokyo | August 31, 1991 | |
| Inha Babakova | Soviet Union /  Ukraine |
Tokyo | September 15, 1995 | |
| 2.04 | Silvia Costa |  Cuba |
Barcelona | September 9, 1989 |
| Venelina Veneva | Bulgaria |
Kalamata | June 2, 2001 |
[edit] Men (indoor)
updated (January 8, 2008)
| Pos. | Mark | Athlete | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2.43 | Javier Sotomayor (CUB) |
Budapest | March 4, 1989 |
| 2. | 2.42 | Carlo Thränhardt (FRG) |
Berlin | February 26, 1988 |
| 3. | 2.41 | Patrik Sjöberg (SWE) |
Piraeus | February 1, 1987 |
| 4. | 2.40 |  Hollis Conway (USA) |
Sevilla | March 10, 1991 |
| Stefan Holm (SWE) |
Madrid | March 6, 2005 | ||
| 6. | 2.39 | Dietmar Mögenburg (FRG) |
Köln | February 24, 1985 |
| Ralf Sonn (GER) |
Berlin | March 1, 1991 | ||
| Ivan Ukhov (RUS) |
Moskva | January 28, 2007 | ||
| 9. | 2.38 | Igor Paklin (USSR) |
Indianapolis | March 7, 1987 |
| Gennadiy Avdeyenko (USSR) |
Indianapolis | March 7, 1987 | ||
 Steve Smith (GBR) |
Wuppertal | February 4, 1994 | ||
| Wolf-Hendrik Beyer (GER) |
Weinheim | March 18, 1994 | ||
 Sorin Matei (ROM) |
Wuppertal | February 3, 1995 | ||
| Matt Hemingway (USA) |
Atlanta | March 4, 2000 | ||
| Yaroslav Rybakov (RUS) |
Stockholm | February 15, 2005 | ||
| Linus Thörnblad (SWE) |
Göteborg | February 25, 2007 |
[edit] Women (indoor)
updated (January 9, 2008)
| Pos. | Mark | Athlete | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2.08 | Kajsa Bergqvist (SWE) |
Arnstadt | February 04, 2006 |
| 2. | 2.07 | Heike Henkel (GER) |
Karlsruhe | February 08, 1992 |
| 3. | 2.06 | Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) |
Athinai | February 20, 1988 |
| 4. | 2.05 | Blanka Vlasic (CRO) |
Banska Bystrica | February 14, 2006 |
 Tia Hellebaut (BEL) |
Birmingham | March 03, 2007 | ||
| 4. | 2.04 | Alina Astafei (GER) |
Berlin | March 03, 1995 |
| Anna Chicherova (RUS) |
Yekaterinburg | January 07, 2003 | ||
| Yelena Slesarenko (RUS) |
Budapest | March 07, 2004 | ||
| 9. | 2.03 | Tamara Bykova (USSR) |
Budapest | March 06, 1983 |
| Monika Iagar (ROM) |
Bucuresti | January 23, 1999 | ||
| Marina Kuptsova (RUS) |
Wien | March 02, 2002 |
[edit] Best Year Performance
[edit] Men's Seasons Best (Outdoor)
[edit] Women's Seasons Best (Outdoor)
[edit] National records
[edit] Men
[edit] Women
[edit] See also
- List of Olympic medalists in athletics (women)
- List of Olympic medalists in athletics (men)
- World Record progression in athletics high jump men
- World Record progression high jump women
- National champions high jump (women)
- National champions High Jump (men)
[edit] References
- The Complete Book of Track and Field, by Tom McNab
- The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2000
- All-time list, men outdoor (IAAF)
- All-time list, women outdoor (IAAF)
- All-time list, men indoor (IAAF)
- All-time list, women indoor (IAAF)
[edit] External links
- Jumping Guide
- High Jump Resource Center
- International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) – official site
- World Record progression in athletics
- World Masters Athletics - official site
- Masters T&F World Rankings
- Athletics all-time performances
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