Athletics High jump
Yelena Slesarenko using the Fosbury Flop technique at 2004 Summer Olympics.
Men's records
World	Javier Sotomayor 2.45 m (1993)
Olympic	Charles Austin 2.39 m (1996)
Women's records
World	Stefka Kostadinova 2.09 m (1987)
Olympic	Yelena Slesarenko 2.06 m (2004)

The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices. In its modern most practiced format, auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years. Over the centuries since, competitors have introduced increasingly more effective techniques to arrive at the current form. Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) is the current men's record holder with a jump of 2.45 m (8 ft 0¼ in) set in 1993, the longest standing record in the history of the men's high jump. Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) has held the women's world record at 2.09 m (6 ft 10¼ in) since 1987, also the longest-held record in the event.

Rules [edit]

Jumpers must take off on one foot.

A jump is considered a fail if the bar is dislodged by the action of the jumper whilst jumping or the jumper touches the ground or breaks the plane of the near edge of the bar before clearance.

Competitors may begin jumping at any height announced by the chief judge, or may pass, at their own discretion. Three consecutive missed jumps, at any height or combination of heights, will eliminate the jumper from competition.

The victory goes to the jumper who clears the greatest height during the final. If two or more jumpers tie for first place, the tie-breakers are: 1) The fewest misses at the height at which the tie occurred; and 2) The fewest misses throughout the competition.

If the event remains tied, the jumpers have a jump-off, beginning at the next greater height. Each jumper has one attempt. The bar is then alternately lowered and raised until only one jumper succeeds at a given height.^[1]

History [edit]

Konstantinos Tsiklitiras during the standing high jump competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics

The first recorded high jump event took place in Scotland in the 19th century. 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 Michael Sweeney's Eastern cut-off. By taking off like the scissors, but extending his back and flattening out over the bar, Sweeney achieved a more economic clearance and raised the world record to 1.97 m (6 ft 5½ in) in 1895.

Another American, George 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 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) in 1912. His technique was predominant through the Berlin Olympics of 1936, in which the event was won by Cornelius Johnson at 2.03 m (6 ft 7¾ in).

American and Soviet 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 up to that time. Straddle-jumper Charles Dumas was the first to clear 7 feet (2.13 m) in 1956, and American John Thomas pushed the world mark to 2.23 m (7 ft 3¾ in) 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 ft 5¾ in), and won the Olympic gold medal in 1964, before a motorcycle accident ended his career.

Gold medal winner Ethel Catherwood of Canada scissors over the bar at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Her winning result was 1.59 m (5 ft 2½ in).

Platt Adams during the standing high jump competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics

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 Vladimir Yashchenko, who cleared 2.33 m (7 ft 7 ¹⁄₂ in) in 1977 and then 2.35 m (7 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) indoors in 1978.

Among renowned high jumpers following Fosbury's lead were: Americans Dwight Stones and his rival, 1.73 m (5 feet 8 inches) tall Franklin Jacobs of Paterson, NJ, who cleared 2.32 m (7 ft 7¼ in), an astounding 0.59 metres (1 ft 11 in) over his head (a feat equaled 27 years later by Sweden's Stefan Holm); 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.

Technical aspects [edit]

High jump shoes [edit]

High jump shoes are different from most other track shoes in that they have much thicker soles than ordinary "sprint spikes" - in order to provide stability and comfort at take-off, although in the 1960s and early 70s, when the straddle technique still predominated, a single shoe was often worn on the take-off foot where the built-up sole would allow the free leg to swing without spikes catching the ground. There are an additional four holes in the heel of the take-off shoe, where the user can insert spikes for increased traction. The total number of spikes allowed by the IAAF can not exceed 11 in the sole, and jump shoes are normally configured with six or seven in the front, and four in the heel: spikes may not exceed 12mm in length. The four heel spikes aid greatly in the last four to five steps of the J-approach, allowing the jumper to run on his or her curve at a fast speed without slipping. Some high jump shoes are even more technologically developed and in addition to the extra spikes on the heel, the shoes are modified to lean the direction of the approach to provide further support while running their curve. As well as the approach, high jump shoes also help and support the jumper's takeoff. The 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.

The approach [edit]

The approach of the high jump may actually be more important than the take off. If a high jumper runs with bad timing or without enough aggression, clearing a high bar becomes more of a challenge. The approach requires a certain shape or curve, the right amount of speed, and the correct number of strides. The approach angle is also critical for optimal height.

Most great straddle jumpers have a run at angles of about 30 to 40 degrees. The length of the run is determined by the speed of the person's approach. A slower run requires about 8 strides. However, a faster high jumper might need about 13 strides. A greater run speed allows a greater part of the body's forward momentum to be converted upward [2].

The J type approach, favored by Fosbury floppers, allows for horizontal speed, the ability to turn in the air (centripetal force), and good take-off position. The approach should be a hard controlled stride so that a person does not fall from creating an angle with speed. Athletes should run tall and lean from the ankles on the curve and not the hips [3]. Unlike the "classic" straddle technique, where the take-off foot is "planted" in the same spot at every height, flop-style jumpers must adjust their take-off as the bar is raised. Their J approach run must be adjusted slightly so that their take-off spot is slightly further out from the bar in order to allow their hips to clear the bar while still maintaining enough momentum to carry their legs across the bar. Jumpers attempting to reach record heights commonly fail when most of their energy is directed into the vertical effort, and they brush the bar off the standards with the backs of their legs as they stall-out in mid-air.

Drills can be practiced to solidify the approach. One drill is to run in a straight line (the linear part of the approach) and then run two to three circles spiraling into one another. Another is to run or skip a circle of any size, two to three times in a row [4]. It is important to train to leap upwards without first leaning into the bar, allowing the momentum of the J approach to carry the body across the bar.

Declaring the winner [edit]

In competition the winner is the person who cleared the highest height. In case of a tie, fewer failed attempts at that height are better: i.e., the jumper who makes a height on his/her first attempt is placed ahead of someone who clears the same height on the second or third attempt. If there still is a tie here, all the failed attempts at lower heights are added up, the one with the fewest number of total misses is declared the winner. If still tied a playoff is held. Starting height is the next larger height after the overjumped one. If all the competitors clear the height, the bar is raised 2 cm (0.79 in), and if they fail, the bar is lowered 2 cm. That continues until only one competitor succeeds in overjumping that height, he is declared the winner.

• In the table below, dashes indicate that a height was not attempted, crosses indicate failed attempts, and circles indicate a cleared height. Jumpers A and D cleared 1.99 m but failed at 2.01 m. A wins this competition having cleared the winning height with two attempts, while jumper D required three attempts. Similarly, B is ranked ahead of C having cleared the decisive height (i.e., 1.97m) in the first attempt.

Top performers [edit]

Updated 24 August 2012.^[2]

Men (outdoor) [edit]

Pos.	Mark	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date	Ref
1.	2.45 m (8 ft 0¼ in)	Javier Sotomayor	Cuba	Salamanca	27 July 1993[3][4]
2.	2.42 m (7 ft 11 1⁄2 in)	Patrik Sjöberg	Sweden	Stockholm	30 June 1987[3][4]
3.	2.41 m (7 ft 11 in)	Igor Paklin	Soviet Union	Kobe	4 September 1985[3][4]
4.	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Rudolf Povarnitsyn	Soviet Union	Donetsk	11 August 1985[3][4]
		Sorin Matei	Romania	Bratislava	20 June 1990[3][4]
		Charles Austin	USA	Zürich	7 August 1991[3][4]
		Vyacheslav Voronin	Russia	London	5 August 2000[3][4]
8.	2.39 m (7 ft 10 in)	Zhu Jianhua	China	Eberstadt	10 June 1984[3][4]
		Hollis Conway	USA	Norman	30 July 1989[3][4]
		Ivan Ukhov	Russia	Cheboksary	5 July 2012
		Mutaz Essa Barshim	Qatar	Lausanne	23 August 2012	[5]

Women (outdoor) [edit]

Pos.	Mark	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
1.	2.09 m (6 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Stefka Kostadinova	Bulgaria	Rome	30 August 1987
2.	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	Blanka Vlašić	Croatia	Zagreb	31 August 2009
3.	2.07 m (6 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Lyudmila Andonova	Bulgaria	Berlin	20 July 1984
		Anna Chicherova	Russia	Cheboksary	22 July 2011
5.	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Kajsa Bergqvist	Sweden	Eberstadt	26 July 2003
		Hestrie Cloete	South Africa	Paris	31 August 2003
		Yelena Slesarenko	Russia	Athens	28 August 2004
		Ariane Friedrich	Germany	Berlin	14 June 2009
9.	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Tamara Bykova	Soviet Union	Kiev	22 June 1984
		Heike Henkel	Germany	Tokyo	31 August 1991
		Inha Babakova	Ukraine	Tokyo	15 September 1995
		Tia Hellebaut	Belgium	Beijing	23 August 2008
		Chaunté Lowe	USA	Des Moines	26 June 2010

Men (indoor) [edit]

Updated to 10 February 2011^[6]

Pos.	Mark	Athlete	Venue	Date
1.	2.43 m (7 ft 11 1⁄2 in)	Javier Sotomayor (CUB)	Budapest	4 March 1989
2.	2.42 m (7 ft 11 1⁄2 in)	Carlo Thränhardt (FRG)	Berlin	26 February 1988
3.	2.41 m (7 ft 11 in)	Patrik Sjöberg (SWE)	Piraeus	1 February 1987
4.	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Hollis Conway (USA)	Seville	10 March 1991
		Stefan Holm (SWE)	Madrid	6 March 2005
		Ivan Ukhov (RUS)	Athens	25 February 2009
7.	2.39 m (7 ft 10 in)	Dietmar Mögenburg (FRG)	Cologne	24 February 1985
		Ralf Sonn (GER)	Berlin	1 March 1991
9.	2.38 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Igor Paklin (USSR)	Indianapolis	7 March 1987
		Hennadiy Avdyeyenko (USSR)	Indianapolis	7 March 1987
		Steve Smith (GBR)	Wuppertal	4 February 1994
		Wolf-Hendrik Beyer (GER)	Weinheim	18 March 1994
		Sorin Matei (ROM)	Wuppertal	3 February 1995
		Matt Hemingway (USA)	Atlanta	4 March 2000
		Yaroslav Rybakov (RUS)	Stockholm	15 February 2005
		Linus Thörnblad (SWE)	Gothenburg	25 February 2007

Women (indoor) [edit]

Updated to 10 February 2011.^[7]

Pos.	Mark	Athlete	Venue	Date
1.	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	Kajsa Bergqvist (SWE)	Arnstadt	6 February 2006
2.	2.07 m (6 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Heike Henkel (GER)	Karlsruhe	8 February 1992
3.	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)	Athens	20 February 1988
		Blanka Vlašić (CRO)	Arnstadt	6 February 2010
		Anna Chicherova (RUS)	Arnstadt	4 February 2012
6.	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Tia Hellebaut (BEL)	Birmingham	3 March 2007
		Ariane Friedrich (GER)	Karlsruhe	15 February 2009
8.	2.04 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Alina Astafei (GER)	Berlin	3 March 1995
		Yelena Slesarenko (RUS)	Budapest	7 March 2004
		Antonietta Di Martino (ITA)	Banská Bystrica	9 February 2011

Best Year Performance [edit]

Men's Seasons Best (Outdoor) [edit]

Year	Height	Athlete	Venue
1971	2.29 m (7 ft 6 in)	Pat Matzdorf (USA)	Berkeley
1972	2.25 m (7 ft 4 1⁄2 in)	Jüri Tarmak (URS)	Moscow
1973	2.30 m (7 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Dwight Stones (USA)	Munich
1974	2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)	Dwight Stones (USA)	Oslo
1975	2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)	Dwight Stones (USA)	New York
1976	2.32 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Dwight Stones (USA)	Philadelphia
1977	2.33 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Vladimir Yashchenko (URS)	Richmond
1978	2.34 m (7 ft 8 in)	Vladimir Yashchenko (URS)	Tbilisi
1979	2.32 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Dietmar Mögenburg (FRG)	Ottawa
1980	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Gerd Wessig (GDR)	Moscow
1981	2.33 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Aleksey Demyanyuk (URS)	Leningrad
1982	2.33 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Zhu Jianhua (CHN)	Delhi
1983	2.38 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Zhu Jianhua (CHN)	Shanghai
1984	2.39 m (7 ft 10 in)	Zhu Jianhua (CHN)	Eberstadt
1985	2.41 m (7 ft 11 in)	Igor Paklin (URS)	Kobe
1986	2.38 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Igor Paklin (URS)	Rieti
1987	2.42 m (7 ft 11 1⁄2 in)	Patrik Sjöberg (SWE)	Stockholm
1988	2.43 m (7 ft 11 1⁄2 in)	Javier Sotomayor (CUB)	Salamanca
1989	2.44 m (8 ft 0 in)	Javier Sotomayor (CUB)	San Juan
1990	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Sorin Matei (ROM)	Bratislava
1991	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Javier Sotomayor (CUB)  Charles Austin (USA)	Saint-Denis Zürich
1992	2.37 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Steve Smith (GBR)	Seoul
1993	2.45 m (8 ft 1⁄2 in)	Javier Sotomayor (CUB)	Salamanca
1994	2.42 m (7 ft 11 1⁄2 in)	Javier Sotomayor (CUB)	Seville
1995	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Javier Sotomayor (CUB)	Mar del Plata
1996	2.39 m (7 ft 10 in)	Charles Austin (USA)	Atlanta
1997	2.37 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Javier Sotomayor (CUB)	Athens
1998	2.37 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Javier Sotomayor (CUB)	Maracaibo
1999	2.37 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Vyacheslav Voronin (RUS)	Seville
2000	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Vyacheslav Voronin (RUS)	London
2001	2.37 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Vyacheslav Voronin (RUS)	Eberstadt
2002	2.37 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Jacques Freitag (RSA)	Durban
2003	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Aleksander Walerianczyk (POL)	Bydgoszcz
2004	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Stefan Holm (SWE)	Eberstadt
2005	2.38 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Jacques Freitag (RSA)  Andriy Sokolovskyy (UKR)	Oudtshoorn Rome
2006	2.37 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Andrey Silnov (RUS)	Monaco
2007	2.35 m (7 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Donald Thomas (BAH)  Stefan Holm (SWE)  Yaroslav Rybakov (RUS)  Kyriacos Ioannou (CYP)	Salamanca Stockholm Osaka Osaka
2008	2.38 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Andrey Silnov (RUS)	London
2009	2.35 m (7 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Andra Manson (USA)  Ivan Ukhov (RUS)  Yaroslav Rybakov (RUS)	Austin Cheboksary Cheboksary
2010	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Ivan Ukhov (RUS)	Opole
2011	2.37 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Jesse Williams (USA)	Eugene
2012	2.39 m (7 ft 10 in)	Ivan Ukhov (RUS)	Cheboksary
2012	2.39 m (7 ft 10 in)	Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT)	Lausanne

Women's Seasons Best (Outdoor) [edit]

Year	Height	Athlete	Venue
1970	1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)	Antonina Lazareva (URS)	Kiev
1971	1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)	Ilona Gusenbauer (AUT)	Vienna
1972	1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in)	Yordanka Blagoeva (BUL)	Zagreb
1973	1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)	Yordanka Blagoeva (BUL)	Warsaw
1974	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	Rosemarie Ackermann (GDR)	Rome
1975	1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in)	Rosemarie Ackermann (GDR)	Nice
1976	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Rosemarie Ackermann (GDR)	Dresden
1977	2.00 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Rosemarie Ackermann (GDR)	Berlin
1978	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	Sara Simeoni (ITA)	Brescia
1979	1.99 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Rosemarie Ackermann (GDR)	Turin
1980	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	Sara Simeoni (ITA)	Turin
1981	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Pamela Spencer (USA)	Brussels
1982	2.02 m (6 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG)	Athens
1983	2.04 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Tamara Bykova (URS)	Pisa
1984	2.07 m (6 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Lyudmila Andonova (BUL)	Berlin
1985	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)	Moscow
1986	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)	Sofia
1987	2.09 m (6 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)	Rome
1988	2.07 m (6 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)	Sofia
1989	2.04 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Silvia Costa (CUB)	Barcelona
1990	2.02 m (6 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Yelena Yelesina (URS)	Seattle
1991	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Heike Henkel (GER)	Tokyo
1992	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)	San Marino
1993	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)	Fukuoka
1994	2.00 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Silvia Costa (CUB)  Inga Babakova (UKR)  Britta Bilač (SLO)	Havana Moscow Helsinki
1995	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Inga Babakova (UKR)	Tokyo
1996	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)	Atlanta
1997	2.02 m (6 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)  Inga Babakova (UKR)	Osaka Fukuoka
1998	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Venelina Veneva (BUL)	Kalámai
1999	2.04 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Hestrie Cloete (RSA)	Monaco
2000	2.02 m (6 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Monica Iagăr (ROM)	Villeneuve d'Ascq
2001	2.04 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Venelina Veneva (BUL)	Kalamáta
2002	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Kajsa Bergqvist (SWE)	Poznań
2003	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Kajsa Bergqvist (SWE)  Hestrie Cloete (RSA)	Eberstadt Saint-Denis
2004	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Yelena Slesarenko (RUS)	Athens
2005	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Kajsa Bergqvist (SWE)	Sheffield
2006	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Kajsa Bergqvist (SWE)	London
2007	2.07 m (6 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Blanka Vlašić (CRO)	Stockholm
2008	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Blanka Vlašić (CRO)	Istanbul Madrid
2009	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	Blanka Vlašić (CRO)	Zagreb
2010	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Chaunté Lowe (USA)  Blanka Vlašić (CRO)	Des Moines Split
2011	2.07 m (6 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Anna Chicherova (RUS)	Cheboksary
2012	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Anna Chicherova (RUS)	London

Most Successful [edit]

Athletes who have won multiple titles at the two most important competitions, the Olympic Games and the World Championships:

Men [edit]

• 3 wins: Javier Sotomayor (CUB) - Olympic Champion in 1992, World Champion in 1991 & 1997
• 2 wins: Gennadiy Avdeyenko (URS) - Olympic Champion in 1988, World Champion in 1983

Women [edit]

• 3 wins: Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) - Olympic Champion in 1996, World Champion in 1987 & 1995
• 2 wins: Iolanda Balas (ROM) - Olympic Champion in 1960 & 1964
• 2 wins: Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG) - Olympic Champion in 1972 & 1984
• 2 wins: Heike Henkel (GER) - Olympic Champion in 1992, World Champion in 1991
• 2 wins: Hestrie Cloete (RSA) - World Champion in 2001 & 2003
• 2 wins: Blanka Vlasic (CRO) - World Champion in 2007 & 2009
• 2 wins: Anna Chicherova (RUS) - Olympic Champion in 2012 & World Champion in 2011

Note: Kostadinova and Sotomayor are the only high jumpers to have been Olympic Champion, World Champion and broken the World Record.

Athletes with most medals [edit]

Men [edit]

Athlete	Olympic Games			World Championships			World Indoor Championships			Continental Championships			Continental Indoor Championships			Universiade			Regional Games Mediterranean Panamerican Asian			Total
Javier Sotomayor	1	1	0	2	2	0	4	1	0	2	0	1	-	-	-	1	0	0	3	0	0	13	4	1
Dietmar Mögenburg	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	5	2	1	0	0	0	-	-	-	7	3	1
Stefan Holm	1	0	0	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	7	2	1
Patrik Sjöberg	0	2	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	6	3	2
Lee Jin-Taek	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	-	-	-	1	0	1	2	0	0	6	1	1
Igor Paklin	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	-	-	-	4	1	0
Valeriy Brumel	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	-	-	-	4	1	0
Zhu Jianhua	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	-	-	-	0	0	0	2	0	0	4	0	2
Yaroslav Rybakov	0	0	1	1	3	0	1	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	-	-	-	3	8	2
Dragutin Topić	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	4
Vladimir Yashchenko	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	3	0	0
Gennadiy Avdeyenko	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	-	-	-	2	2	1
Hollis Conway	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	2	3

Women [edit]

Athlete	Olympic Games			World Championships			World Indoor Championships			Continental Championships			Continental Indoor Championships			Universiade			Regional Games Mediterranean Panamerican Commonwealth			Total
Stefka Kostadinova	1	1	0	2	0	0	5	0	0	1	0	0	4	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	13	2	0
Sara Simeoni	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	4	0	0	2	1	2	2	0	0	10	2	4
Blanka Vlašić	0	1	0	2	0	0	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	6	2	1
Hestrie Cloete	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	6	2	0
Heike Henkel	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	-	-	-	6	1	3
Iolanda Balaş	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	-	-	-	6	1	0
Kajsa Bergqvist	0	0	1	1	0	2	2	0	0	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	5	1	4
Rosemarie Ackermann	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	5	1	0
Anna Chicherova	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	-	-	-	4	4	2
Tamara Bykova	0	0	1	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	-	-	-	4	2	2
Alina Astafei	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	1	1	0	0	-	-	-	4	3	2
Tia Hellebaut	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	4	0	0
Ulrike Meyfarth	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	-	-	-	3	2	0
Yelena Slesarenko	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	-	-	-	3	1	1
Antonietta Di Martino	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	3	1

High Jump Differentials [edit]

All time lists of athletes with the highest recorded jumps above their own height.^[8][9]

Men [edit]

	Athlete	born	tall	jump	year	diff.
1	Stefan Holm	1976	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in) †	2005	0.59 m (1 ft 11 in)
	Franklin Jacobs	1957	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	2.32 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in) †	1978
3	Linus Thörnblad	1985	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	2.38 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in) †	2005	0.58 m (1 ft 11 in)
	Anton Riepl	1969	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	2.33 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in) †	1993
	Rick Noji	1967	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)	1992
6	Hollis Conway	1967	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in) †	1989	0.57 m (1 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
7	Takahiro Kimino	1973	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	2.32 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	1993	0.56 m (1 ft 10 in)
	Charles Austin	1967	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	1991
	Sorin Matei	1963	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	1990
10	Robert Wolski	1982	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)	2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)	2006	0.55 m (1 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
	Hari Shankar Roy	1986	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	2.25 m (7 ft 4 1⁄2 in)	2004
	Marcello Benvenuti	1964	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	2.33 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	1986
	Milton Ottey	1959	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	2.33 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	1986
14	Hikaru Tsuchiya	1986	1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	2.25 m (7 ft 4 1⁄2 in)	2009	0.54 m (1 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
	Jeremy Fischer	1976	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	2.29 m (7 ft 6 in)	2000
	Motochika Inoue	1967	1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)	1987
	Takashi Katamine	1958	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	2.27 m (7 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	1983

† Indoor performance.

Women [edit]

	Athlete	born	tall	jump	year	diff.
1	Antonietta Di Martino	1978	1.69 m	2.04 m *	2011	0.35 m (1 ft 2 in)
2	Kajsa Bergqvist	1976	1.75 m	2.08 m *	2006	0.33 m (1 ft 1 in)
	Niki Bakoyianni	1968	1.70 m	2.03 m	1998
4	Yolanda Henry	1964	1.68 m	2.00 m *	1990	0.32 m (1 ft 1⁄2 in)
	Emilia Dragieva	1965	1.68 m	2.00 m *	1987
6	Marie Collonvillé	1973	1.63 m	1.94 m	1997	0.31 m (1 ft 0 in)
7	Jessica Ennis	1986	1.65 m	1.95 m	2007	0.30 m (1 ft 0 in)
	Viktoriya Seryogina	1973	1.70 m	2.00 m	2002
	Antonella Bevilacqua	1971	1.69 m	1.99 m	1996
	Lyudmila Andonova	1960	1.77 m	2.07 m	1984
	Cindy Holmes	1962	1.53 m	1.83 m	1982

• Indoor performance.

Female two metres club [edit]

At 31 January 2013 included, 65 different female athletes had ever been able to jump 2.00 metres (outdoor and indoor).^[10][11] The following table shows the only ten countries from which more than one athlete has a personal best of at least 2.00 metres.

#	Nations	Nr.	Athletes
1	Russia	15	Anna Chicherova 2.07, Elena Slesarenko 2.06, Tamara Bykova 2.05, Irina Gordeeva 2.04, Marina Kuptsova 2.03, Svetlana Shkolina 2.03, Tatyana Babashkina 2.03, Yelena Yelesina 2.02, Yelena Gulyayeva 2.01, Svetlana Lapina 2.00, Ekaterina Savchenko 2.00, Larisa Kositsyna 2.00, Viktoriya Klyugina 2.00, Viktoriya Seryogina 2.00, Yuliya Lyakhova 2.00
2	United States	8	Chaunté Lowe 2.05, Brigetta Barrett 2.03, Louise Ritter 2.03, Amy Acuff 2.01, Tisha Waller 2.01, Coleen Sommer 2.00, Jan Wohlschlag 2.00, Tisha Waller 2.00, Yolanda Henry 2.00
3	Germany	8	Heike Henkel 2.07, Ariane Friedrich 2.06, Alina Astafei 2.04, Ulrike Meyfarth 2.03, Gabriele Günz 2.01, Heike Balck 2.01, Daniela Rath 2.00, Meike Kröger 2.00
4	Bulgaria	5	Stefka Kostadinova 2.09, Lyudmila Andonova 2.07, Venelina Veneva-Mateeva 2.04, Emilia Dragieva 2.00, Svetlana Isaeva-Leseva 2.00
5	Ukraine	5	Inha Babakova 2.05, Vita Styopina 2.02, Iryna Mykhalchenko 2.01, Vita Palamar 2.01, Lyudmila Avdeyenko 2.00
6	Italy	3	Antonietta Di Martino 2.04, Sara Simeoni 2.01, Alessia Trost 2.00 m
7	South Africa	3	Hestrie Cloete 2.06, Desiré Du Plessis 2.01, Charmaine Gale-Weavers 2.00
8	Sweden	2	Kajsa Bergqvist 2.08, Emma Green Tregaro 2.01
9	Cuba	2	Silvia Costa 2.04, Ioamnet Quintero 2.01
10	East Germany	2	Susanne Beyer 2.02, Rosemarie Ackermann 2.00

Absoluted national records [edit]

Updated April 2010.

Men [edit]

Nation	Height	Athlete	Venue	Date	Ref
CUB	2.45 m (8 ft 1⁄2 in)	Javier Sotomayor	Salamanca	1993-07-27
SWE	2.42 m (7 ft 11 1⁄2 in)	Patrik Sjöberg	Stockholm	1987-06-30
GER	2.42 m (7 ft 11 1⁄2 in)	Carlo Thränhardt	Berlin	1988-02-26
KGZ	2.41 m (7 ft 11 in)	Igor Paklin	Kobe	1985-09-04
UKR	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Rudolf Povarnitsin	Donetsk	1985-08-11
ROM	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Sorin Matei	Bratislava	1990-06-20
USA	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Charles Austin	Zürich	1991-08-07
RUS	2.40 m (7 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Vyacheslav Voronin	London	2000-08-05
PRC	2.39 m (7 ft 10 in)	Zhu Jianhua	Beijing	1983-06-11
QAT	2.39 m (7 ft 10 in)	Mutaz Essa Barshim	Lausanne	2012-08-23	[12]
SRB	2.38 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Dragutin Topic	Belgrad	1993-08-01
BAH	2.38 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Troy Kemp	Nice	1995-07-12
POL	2.38 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Artur Partyka	Eberstadt	1996-08-18
RSA	2.38 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Jacques Freitag	Oudtshoorn	2005-03-05
AZE	2.37 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Valeriy Sereda	Rieti	1984-09-02
GBR	2.37 m (7 ft 9 1⁄2 in) m	Steve Smith	Seoul	1992-09-20
			Stuttgart	1993-08-22
		Robbie Grabarz	Lausanne	2012-08-23	[13]
BEL	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Eddy Annys	Ghent	1985-05-26
SVK	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Jan Zvara	Prague	1987-08-23
CZE	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Jaroslav Baba	Rome	2005-07-08
BER	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Clarence Saunders	Auckland	1990-02-01
BUL	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Georgi Dakov	Brussels	1990-08-10
GRE	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Lambros Papakostas	Athens	1992-07-21
AUS	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Tim Forsyth	Melbourne	1997-03-02
NOR	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Steinar Hoen	Oslo	1997-07-01
ISR	2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)	Konstantin Matusevich	Perth	2000-02-05
FRA	2.35 m (7 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Jean-Charles Gicquel	Paris	1994-03-13
CAN	2.35 m (7 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Mark Boswell	Seville	1999-08-23
CYP	2.35 m (7 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Kyriakos Ioannou	Osaka	2007-08-29
LTU	2.34 m (7 ft 8 in)	Rolandas Verkys	Warsaw	1991-06-16
ESP	2.34 m (7 ft 8 in)	Arturo Ortíz	Barcelona	1991-06-22
BLR	2.34 m (7 ft 8 in)	Andrey Sankovich	Gomel	1993-05-15
KOR	2.34 m (7 ft 8 in)	Lee Jin-Taek	Seoul	1997-06-20
ALG	2.34 m (7 ft 8 in)	Abderrahmane Hammad	Algiers	2000-07-14
JAM	2.34 m (7 ft 8 in)	Germaine Mason	Santo Domingo	2003-08-09
BOT	2.34 m (7 ft 8 in)	Kabelo Kgosiemang	Addis Ababa	2008-05-04
ITA	2.33 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Marcello Benvenuti	Verona	1989-09-12
COL	2.33 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Gilmar Mayo	Pereira	1994-10-17
JPN	2.33 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Naoyuki Daigo	Kobe	2006-07-02
UZB	2.32 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Gennadiy Belkov	Tashkent	1982-05-29
BRA	2.32 m (7 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Jessé de Lima	Lausanne	2008-09-02
SUI	2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)	Roland Dalhäuser	Eberstadt	1981-06-07
TJK	2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)	Oleg Palaschevskiy	Bryansk	1990-08-12
BIH	2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)	Elvir Krehmic	Zagreb	1998-07-07
FIN	2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)	Mika Polku	Hämeenkyrö	2000-07-22
		Toni Huikuri	Bratislava	2002-06-11
PER	2.30 m (7 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Hugo Munoz	Lima	1995-10-29
EST	2.30 m (7 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Marko Turban	Rakvere	1996-06-05
LAT	2.30 m (7 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Normunds Sietiņš	Nurmijärvi	1992-07-20
IRL	2.30 m (7 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Adrian O'Dwyer	Algiers	2004-06-24
ISL	2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)	Einar Karl Hjartarson	Reykjavík	2001-02-20
MAS	2.27 m (7 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Lee Hup Wei	Beijing	2008-05-25
SRI	2.27 m (7 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Manjula Kumara Wijesekara	Colombo	2004-07-23
			Incheon	2005-09-04

Women [edit]

Nation	Height	Athlete	Venue	Date
BUL	2.09 m (6 ft 10 1⁄2 in)	Stefka Kostadinova	Rome	1987-08-30
CRO	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	Blanka Vlašić	Zagreb	2009-08-31
SWE	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	Kajsa Bergqvist	Arnstadt	2006-02-04
GER	2.07 m (6 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Heike Henkel	Karlsruhe	1992-02-08
RUS	2.07 m (6 ft 9 1⁄2 in)	Anna Chicherova	Cheboksary	2011-07-22
RSA	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Hestrie Cloete	Paris	2003-08-31
UKR	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Inga Babakova	Tokyo	1995-09-15
BEL	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Tia Hellebaut	Birmingham	2007-03-03
USA	2.05 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Chaunte Lowe	Des Moines	2010-06-26
CUB	2.04 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Silvia Costa	Barcelona	1989-09-09
ITA	2.04 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)	Antonietta Di Martino	Banská Bystrica	2011-02-09
GRE	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Niki Bakogianni	Atlanta	1996-08-03
ROM	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Monica Iagar	Bucharest	1999-01-23
ESP	2.02 m (6 ft 7 1⁄2 in)	Ruth Beitia	San Sebastián	2007-08-04
KAZ	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	Olga Turchak	Moscow	1986-07-07
NOR	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	Hanne Haugland	Zürich	1997-08-13
SRB	2.00 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Biljana Petrović	Saint-Denis	1990-06-22
BLR	2.00 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Tatyana Shevchik	Gomel	1993-05-14
CZE	2.00 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Zuzana Hlavoňová	Prague	2000-06-05
SLO	2.00 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Britta Bilač	Helsinki	1994-08-14
HUN	2.00 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in)	Dóra Györffy	Nyiregyhaza	2001-07-26
UZB	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	Lyudmila Butuzova	Sochi	1984-06-10
CAN	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	Debbie Brill	Rieti	1984-09-02
AUS	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	Alison Inverarity	Ingolstadt	1989-02-12
LCA	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	Levern Spencer	Athens, GA	2010-05-08
POL	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Danuta Bułkowska	Wörrstadt	1984-06-09
CHN	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Jin Ling	Hamamatsu	1989-05-07
LAT	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Valentīna Gotovska	Vilnius	1992-30-03
AUT	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Sigrid Kirchmann	Stuttgart	1993-08-21
MDA	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Olga Bolşova	Rieti	1993-09-05
ARG	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Solange Witteveen	Manaus	2001-05-19
DOM	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Juana Rosario Arrendel	San Salvador	2002-12-02
KGZ	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Tatyana Efimenko	Rome	2003-07-11
MEX	1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)	Romary Rifka	Xalapa	2004-04-04
EST	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Anna Iljuštšenko	Viljandi	2011-08-09
JPN	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Miki Imai	Yokohama	2001-09-15
LTU	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Nelė Žilinskienė	Atlanta	1996-08-03
		Airinė Palšytė	Shenzhen	2011-08-21
GBR	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	Diana Elliott (Davies)	Oslo	1982-06-26
		Susan Moncrieff	Bremen	2001-06-24
		Jessica Ennis	Desenzano	2007-05-05
IRL	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	Deirdre Ryan	Daegu	2011-09-01
FRA	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	Maryse Ewanje-Epee	Göteborg	1984-03-04
ISR	1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in)	Danielle Frenkel	Paris	2011-03-05
VIE	1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in)	Bui Thi Nhung	Bangkok	2005-05-04
TUR	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[14]	Candeğer Oğuz	Istanbul	2004-05-16
BRA	1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)	Orlane dos Santos	Bogotá	1989-08-11
FIN	1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)	Hanna Mikkonen	Tampere	2005-06-12

See also [edit]

• List of Olympic medalists in athletics (women)
• List of Olympic medalists in athletics (men)
• Men's high jump world record progression
• Women's high jump world record progression
• National champions High Jump (women)
• National champions High Jump (men)
• Standing high jump

References [edit]

Bibliography [edit]

• 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)
• Straddle Technique
• Athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics - Women's high jump Ethel Catherwood reference world record
• High Jump Approach
• High Jump Technique and Training
• Vertical Jump Resource

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: High jump

• 50 cm club - Alltime list in jump above own height
• High Jump All-Time Rankings
• High Jump Resource Center