High jump

High Jump history

Submitted by nicolamira on 29 November, 2009 - 10:00
Dick Fosbury of the USA
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 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, Sweeney achieved a more economic clearance and raised the
world record to 6 feet 5.625 inches (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 feet 7 inches (2.0 m) in 1912. His technique predominated through the Berlin
Olympics of 1936, in which the event was won by Cornelius Johnson at 2.03 metres (6 ft 8 in).

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 7 feet (2.13 m) barrier in 1956, and
American John Thomas pushed the world mark to 2.23 metres 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 metres 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 metres (7 ft 8 in) in 1977 and then 2.35 metres (7 ft 9 in) indoors in 1978.
Among renowned high jumpers following Fosbury's lead were: Americans Dwight Stones and his
rival, Franklin Jacobs of Paterson, NJ, who cleared 2.32 metres an astounding 0.61 m over his
head height; 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.
Today all the best high jumpers in the world prefer the Fosbury technique. However, the last men’s
world record with the straddle was 2.35 m in 1978, which would still be an absolute top
performance today. It is clear then that the dominance of the Fosbudry flop originates in an easier-
to-learn basic form rather than in fundamental biomechanical advantages. Beginners have better
results with the flop and improve faster.

The Olympic high jump is a track and field event in which fast and flexible athletes attempt to
leap over a tall crossbar in a single bound. It is one of the sports that was included when the
modern Olympic Game began in 1896. Since then, the rules have largely remained the same,
although high jump technique has greatly evolved
Equipment and Jumping Area
The jumping area includes a runway that is at least 15 meters (49 feet) long, a crossbar that is four
meters (13 feet) long, and a crash mat. To complete the high jump, jumpers run toward the bar and
clear it using a type of jump known as the Fosbury Flop. In the past, athletes used a variety of
different jumps to clear the bar, including the straddle technique and the scissors jump. A jump is
considered successful if the jumper clears the bar without dislodging it.

High jumper’s shoes can have a maximum thickness of 13 millimeters in the sole and 19
millimeters in the heel.

The High Jump

The jump itself requires great attention to form and technique. In the Olympic competition, there
are several rules that all jumpers must follow:

Jumpers must takeoff on one foot.

A successful jump is one in which the crossbar remains in place once the jumper has left the
landing area.
At their own discretion, competitors may begin jumping at the height announced by the chief
judge or may pass.
Three consecutive missed jumps, at any height or combination of heights, will eliminate a jumper
from the competition.

Competition
Athletes who participate in the high jump must achieve an Olympic-qualifying height and must
qualify for their nation’s Olympic team. A maximum of three competitors per country may
compete in the high jump. Twelve jumpers participate in the Olympic high jump final.
Qualification results do not carry over into the final.

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-breaker is determined by which jumper has:

The fewest misses at the height at which the tie occurred.

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 to clear the crossbar. The bar is then alternately lowered and raised until
only one jumper succeeds at a given height.

Technique
High jump technique has changed more than that of any other track and field event since the 1896
Athens Games. Jumpers have gone over the bar feet-first. They've gone over head-first, belly-
down. Today's elite jumpers employ the head-first, belly-up technique popularized by Dick
Fosbury in the 1960s.

High Jump Rules and Records

The Competition
The high jump requires an athlete to jump, leaping off of one foot, over a horizontally lying bar.
The crossbar is held in the air by high jump standards, which are usually metal stands that are
marked with height measurements. If the crossbar (usually fiberglass), is dislodged from the
standards during an athlete's jump, the jump is considered failed. If the athlete clears the crossbar
with their entire body, the jump is successful.

The bar is raised each time the athletes clear a height and the athlete who clears the greatest height
wins the competition. If a jumper fails three consecutive jumps, that athlete is eliminated from the
competition.

Besides dislodging the bar, a jump is ruled failed if the athlete jumping touches the ground or
advances beyond the plane of the near edge bar before clearing the height of the crossbar.

In the event of a tie, there is a 'jump-off', which begins at the next greater height from where the
last successful jumps were made. Each athlete is given one attempt and the bar is lowered until
only one athlete

World Record
Men's: 2.45m (8ft 0.25 in) Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) 1993
Women's: 2.09m (6ft 10.25 in) Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) 1987
How To High Jump - Technique
The Fosbury Flop:
The Approach:

Often times jumpers use a 10 step approach.

The first five of which are a straight line sprint which will start by pushing off with the take-off
foot.
The runner should not crouch during the run and be running with his/her body erect.
The second half of the approach is in a five step 'curve' toward the bar.
The athlete should lean away from the bar and use his/her ankles as the leverage point (not hips).
The Jump:

Curving toward the bar, the athlete should leap completely vertical before he/she reaches the
center of the bar and allow the momentum from the approach to carry his or her legs completely
over the bar.
The athlete can use either a single or double arm jump, which determines how many arms are
clear the bar initially.
The athlete rotates the non-takeoff leg, hips and shoulders in the air until his or her back is to the
bar and arches the body with the knees apart to allow the hips to clear the crossbar.
Once the hips clear, the athlete must quickly force their legs upward and straight to allow them to
pass over the bar.
High Jump Shoes
Shoes For High Jump:
These shoes have very thick soles to increase stability when leaping. This allows for a more
comfortable take-off. Also, the shoes feature 'spikes' on their bottoms for traction while
approaching the jump. In many cases there are holes in the heel of the shoe that the athlete jumps
off to allow them to add spikes for traction in their curve if desired. This lets the athlete run faster
into their turn before the jump without losing balance.

IAAF regulations state that the number of spikes in the sole cannot exceed 11. Standard
configuration is six spikes in the front sole and four spikes in the heel. IAAF also regulates the
maximum thickness of the shoe's sole for high jump and long jump, but not in any other track and
field events.