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 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 is the current men's
record holder with a jump of set in 1993 and 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-held record in the
event.
History
ImageSize = width:200 height:990PlotArea =
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top:25 columnwidth:50AlignBars = early
DateFormat = yyyyPeriod = from:1920 till:2004TimeAxis =
orientation:verticalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5
start:1920
Colors=
id:Basis value:red legend:World_record_women's_high_jump
PlotData=
bar:Leaders width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:XS shift:(22,-4)
from:1922 till:end color:Basis
at:1922 text:Nancy Vorhees_1,46_m
at:1926 text:Phyllis Green_1,55_m
at:1929 text:Carolina Gisoll_1,60_m
at:1932 text:Jean Shiley_1,65_m
at:1939 text:Dorothy Adams_1,66_m
at:1943 text:Fanny Blankers-Koen_1,71_m
at:1956 text:Mildred Singleton_1,76_m
at:1958 text:Iolanda Balas_1,80_m
at:1960 shift:(22,-8) text:Iolanda_Balas_1,85_m
at:1961 shift:(22,-7) text:Iolanda_Balas_1,90_m
at:1961 shift:(22,0) text:Iolanda_Balas_1,91_m
at:1971 text:Ilona Gusenbauer_1,92_m
at:1972 text:Jordanka Blagojewa_1,94_m
at:1974 text:Rosemarie Ackermann_1,95_m
at:1976 shift:(22,-8) text:Rosemarie_Ackermann_1,96_m
at:1977 shift:(22,-8) text:Rosemarie_Ackermann_1,97_m
at:1977 shift:(22,-1) text:Rosemarie_Ackermann_2,00_m
at:1978 shift:(22,-2) text:Sara Simeoni_2,01_m
at:1982 shift:(22,-6) text:Ulrike Meyfarth_2,02_m
at:1983 shift:(22,-8) text:Ulrike_Meyfarth_2,03_m
at:1983 shift:(22,-1) text:Tamara Bykowa_2,04_m
at:1984 shift:(22,-5) text:Tamara_Bykowa_2,05_m
at:1984 shift:(22,2) text:Ludmilla Andonowa_2,07_m
at:1986 text:Stefka Kostadinova_2,08_m
at:1987 text:Stefka_Kostadinova_2,09_m
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 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 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 in 1912. His technique predominated through the
Berlin Olympics of 1936, in which
the event was won by
Cornelius
Johnson at .
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 up to that
time. Straddle-jumper
Charles Dumas
broke the elusive barrier in 1956, and American
John Thomas pushed the world mark
to 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 , 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
in 1977 and then indoors in 1978.
Among renowned high jumpers following Fosbury's lead were:
Americans
Dwight Stones and his rival,
tall
Franklin Jacobs of Paterson,
NJ, who cleared , an astounding over his head (a feat equaled 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
High jump shoes
High jump shoes are different from most other track
shoes in that there are an additional four holes in
the heel of the takeoff shoe, where the user can insert spikes for
increased traction. These extra 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
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. The greater the
speed of the run, the greater the body's momentum can be converted
upward
[1740].
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
[1741].
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
[1742].
Top performers
Updated June 16, 2009.
Men (outdoor)
Women (outdoor)
| Pos. |
Mark |
Athlete |
Nationality |
Venue |
Date |
| 1. |
2.09 |
Stefka Kostadinova |
|
Rome |
August 30, 1987 |
| 2. |
2.08 |
Blanka Vlašić |
|
Zagreb |
August 31, 2009 |
| 3. |
2.07 |
Lyudmila Andonova |
|
Berlin |
July 20, 1984 |
| 4. |
2.06 |
Kajsa Bergqvist |
|
Eberstadt |
July 26, 2003 |
| Hestrie Cloete |
|
Paris |
August 31, 2003 |
| Yelena Slesarenko |
|
Athens |
August 28, 2004 |
| Ariane Friedrich |
|
Berlin |
June 14, 2009 |
| 9. |
2.05 |
Tamara Bykova |
|
Kiev |
June 22, 1984 |
| Heike Henkel |
|
Tokyo |
August 31, 1991 |
| Inha Babakova |
|
Tokyo |
September 15, 1995 |
| Tia Hellebaut |
|
Beijing |
August 23, 2008 |
Men (indoor)
| Pos. |
Mark |
Athlete |
Venue |
Date |
| 1. |
2.43 |
|
Budapest |
March 4, 1989 |
| 2. |
2.42 |
|
Berlin |
February 26, 1988 |
| 3. |
2.41 |
|
Piraeus |
February 1, 1987 |
| 4. |
2.40 |
|
Sevilla |
March 10, 1991 |
|
Madrid |
March 6, 2005 |
|
Athens |
February 25, 2009 |
| 6. |
2.39 |
|
Köln |
February 24, 1985 |
|
Berlin |
March 1, 1991 |
| 9. |
2.38 |
|
Indianapolis |
March 7, 1987 |
|
Indianapolis |
March 7, 1987 |
|
Wuppertal |
February 4, 1994 |
|
Weinheim |
March 18, 1994 |
|
Wuppertal |
February 3, 1995 |
|
Atlanta |
March 4, 2000 |
|
Stockholm |
February 15, 2005 |
|
Göteborg |
February 25, 2007 |
Women (indoor)
| Pos. |
Mark |
Athlete |
Venue |
Date |
| 1. |
2.08 |
|
Arnstadt |
February 6, 2006 |
| 2. |
2.07 |
|
Karlsruhe |
February 8, 1992 |
| 3. |
2.06 |
|
Athens |
February 20, 1988 |
| 4. |
2.05 |
|
Banská Bystrica |
February 14, 2006 |
|
Birmingham |
March 3, 2007 |
|
Karlsruhe |
February 15, 2009 |
| 7. |
2.04 |
|
Berlin |
March 3, 1995 |
|
Yekaterinburg |
January 7, 2003 |
|
Budapest |
March 7, 2004 |
| 10. |
2.03 |
|
Budapest |
March 6, 1983 |
|
Bucharest |
January 23, 1999 |
|
Wien |
March 2, 2002 |
Best Year Performance
Men's Seasons Best (Outdoor)
Women's Seasons Best (Outdoor)
National records
Updated September 2,
2009.
Men
Women
See also
References
- Website of Turkish Athleticism Federation
- National men records at the website of Chilean
Athleticism Federation
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