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You are here: Home / High jump blog / What is high jump?
What is high jump?

What is high jump?

December 19, 2016 by David

High jump is a track and field event that tests the people’s ability to jump and clear a bar at the greatest height. The event is fascinating because it puts into perspective people’s ability to defy gravity and their own physical stature in order to propel themselves to heights beyond most people’s imaginations.

Saying that you have jumped a great height in the high jump might sound like numbers to the ordinary person. But when it is put into the perspective of clearing a door or even a basketball ring, that is when people really understand the significance of a high jumper’s performance.

If you can walk on your legs, you will have some sort of jumping ability. That vertical jumping ability is best tested in the high jump.

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  • How does the high jump event work?
  • What are the high jump records?
    • Men
    • Women
    • Want to improve your high jump?

How does the high jump event work?

  • The high jump rules set by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) permit an athlete to have three consecutive attempts at a height to clear the bar. Once an athlete has knocked the bar three times, they will exit the competition.
  • An athlete may elect to pass certain heights or attempts in order to clear greater heights with their remaining attempts.
  • The athlete that clears the greatest height will win the competition.
  • Should there be more than one athlete that has cleared the greatest height, the ranking positions will be provided based on the minimum attempts taken to clear the previous heights.
  • Should the athletes have the exact same number of attempts, then the athletes will participate in a jump-off at lower heights until only one jumper succeeds at a given height.

What are the high jump records?

These are the current world and Olympic records for the high jump.

Men

Records Name Height Country
Men’s World Record Javier Sotomayor 2.45m Cuba
Men’s Olympic Record Charles Austin 2.39m USA
Men’s Indoor Record Javier Sotomayor 2.43m Cuba
Men’s Under 20 World Record Dragutin Topic

Steve Smith

2.37m

2.37m

Yugoslavia
United Kingdom
Men’s Under 18 World Record Javier Sotomayor 2.33m Cuba

Women

Record Name Height Country
Women’s World Record Stefka Kostadinova 2.09m Bulgaria
Women’s Olympic Record Yelena Slesarenko 2.06m Russia
Women’s Indoor Record Kajsa Bergqvist 2.08m Sweden
Women’s Under 20 Record Olga Turchak

Heike Balck

2.01m

2.01m

USSR

West Germany

Women’s Under 18 Record Charmaine Gale-Weavers

Olga Turchak

Eleanor Patterson

1.96m
1.96m1.96m
South Africa
USSRAustralia

Featured image credit: Speed Endurance

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Filed Under: High jump blog, High Jump Facts Tagged With: about high jump, high jump sports, high jumpers, high jumping, what is high jump

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