Men's high jump at the Games of the XVIII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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![]() John Thomas, Valeriy Brumel and John Rambo on the podium | |||||||||||||
Venue | Olympic Stadium | ||||||||||||
Dates | 20–21 October | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 28 from 19 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning height | 2.18 OR | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics | ||
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Track events | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
800 m | men | women |
1500 m | men | |
5000 m | men | |
10,000 m | men | |
80 m hurdles | women | |
110 m hurdles | men | |
400 m hurdles | men | |
3000 m steeplechase | men | |
4 × 100 m relay | men | women |
4 × 400 m relay | men | |
Road events | ||
Marathon | men | |
20 km walk | men | |
50 km walk | men | |
Field events | ||
Long jump | men | women |
Triple jump | men | |
High jump | men | women |
Pole vault | men | |
Shot put | men | women |
Discus throw | men | women |
Javelin throw | men | women |
Hammer throw | men | |
Combined events | ||
Pentathlon | women | |
Decathlon | men | |
The men's high jump was one of four men's jumping events on the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. Qualification was held on October 20, 1964, with the final on October 21. 29 athletes from 20 nations entered, with 1 not starting in the qualification round. [1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Valeriy Brumel of the Soviet Union, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's high jump. Brumel, who had earned silver in 1960, and American John Thomas, who had previously taken bronze in 1960 and now won silver, became the first two men to win multiple medals in the Olympic high jump. John Rambo, also of the United States, won bronze to complete the podium.
This was the 15th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1960 Games were gold medalist Robert Shavlakadze and silver medalist Valery Brumel of the Soviet Union, bronze medalist John Thomas of the United States, fifth-place finisher Stig Pettersson and seventh-place finisher Kjell-Åke Nilsson of Sweden, twelfth-place finisher Mahamat Idriss of France (now of independent Chad), and sixteenth-place finisher Gordon Miller of Great Britain. While Shavlakadze and Brumel beating Thomas had been a major upset in 1960, Brumel had been the best jumper in the intervening four years—improving the world record six times—and was now the favorite. Brumel and Thomas had faced off nine times since 1960, with Brumel winning eight and Thomas one. [2]
Bulgaria, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Peru, Spain, and Thailand each made their debut in the event. The United States appeared for the 15th time, having competed at each edition of the Olympic men's high jump to that point.
The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1912. There were two distinct rounds of jumping with results cleared between rounds. The qualifying round had the bar set at 1.90 metres, 1.95 metres, 2.00 metres, 2.03 metres, and 2.06 metres. All jumpers clearing 2.06 metres in the qualifying round advanced to the final. The final had jumps at 1.90 metres, 1.95 metres, 2.00 metres, 2.03 metres, 2.06 metres, 2.09 metres, 2.12 metres, and then increased by 0.02 metres until a winner was found. Each athlete had three attempts at each height. [2] [3]
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics.
World record | ![]() | 2.28 | Moscow, Soviet Union | 21 July 1963 |
Olympic record | ![]() ![]() | 2.16 | Rome, Italy | 1 September 1960 |
Valeriy Brumel, John Thomas and John Rambo all equalled the Olympic record with 2.16 metres. Brumel and Thomas then set a new Olympic record with 2.18 metres.
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Date | Time | Round |
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Tuesday, 20 October 1964 | Qualifying | |
Wednesday, 21 October 1964 | 14:00 | Final |
Key
Jumpers had to pass 2.06 metres to qualify for the final. The bar started at 1.90 metres, increasing gradually to 2.06 metres. Each jumper had three attempts at each height or could skip any lower height (but could not return to a lower height if he determined that he could not succeed).
Each jumper again had three attempts at each height, with the bar starting at 1.90 metres. Three jumpers were unable to perform as well as they had in the qualification.
Rank | Athlete | Nation | 1.90 | 1.95 | 2.00 | 2.03 | 2.06 | 2.09 | 2.12 | 2.14 | 2.16 | 2.18 | 2.20 | Height | Notes |
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![]() | Valeriy Brumel | ![]() | — | — | o | o | o | o | o | xxo | o | o | xxx | 2.18 | OR |
![]() | John Thomas | ![]() | — | — | o | o | o | o | xo | xxo | xo | o | xxx | 2.18 | OR |
![]() | John Rambo | ![]() | — | — | o | o | o | o | xo | o | xxo | xxx | — | 2.16 | |
4 | Stig Pettersson | ![]() | — | — | o | — | o | o | xo | xo | xxx | — | 2.14 | ||
5 | Robert Shavlakadze | ![]() | — | — | — | o | o | o | o | xxo | xxx | — | 2.14 | ||
6 | Ralf Drecoll | ![]() | — | o | o | o | o | o | xxx | — | 2.09 | ||||
Kjell-Åke Nilsson | ![]() | — | o | o | o | o | o | xxx | — | 2.09 | |||||
8 | Ed Caruthers | ![]() | — | o | o | o | xo | o | xxx | — | 2.09 | ||||
9 | Mahamat Idriss | ![]() | — | o | o | o | o | xo | xxx | — | 2.09 | ||||
10 | Lawrie Peckham | ![]() | o | o | o | o | o | xo | xxx | — | 2.09 | ||||
11 | Edward Czernik | ![]() | — | — | o | — | o | xxx | — | 2.06 | |||||
12 | Evgeni Yordanov | ![]() | — | o | o | o | o | xxx | — | 2.06 | |||||
13 | Anthony Sneazwell | ![]() | — | xo | o | xxo | o | xxx | — | 2.06 | |||||
14 | Valeriy Skvortsov | ![]() | — | o | o | o | xo | xxx | — | 2.06 | |||||
15 | Samuel Igun | ![]() | o | o | o | o | xo | xxx | — | 2.06 | |||||
16 | Mauro Bogliatto | ![]() | — | xo | o | o | xo | xxx | — | 2.06 | |||||
17 | Wolfgang Schillkowski | ![]() | o | o | o | o | xxo | xxx | — | 2.06 | |||||
18 | Gordon Miller | ![]() | o | o | o | o | xxx | — | 2.03 | ||||||
19 | Rudi Köppen | ![]() | o | o | o | xxx | — | 2.00 | |||||||
20 | Henri Elendé | ![]() | o | xxx | — | 1.90 |
The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat for landing. Since ancient times, competitors have introduced increasingly effective techniques to arrive at the current form, and the current universally preferred method is the Fosbury Flop, in which athletes run towards the bar and leap head first with their back to the bar.
Valeriy Nikolayevich Brumel was a Soviet-Russian high jumper. The 1964 Olympic champion and multiple world record holder, he is regarded as one of the greatest athletes ever to compete in the high jump. His international career was ended by a motorcycle crash in 1965.
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John Curtis Thomas was an American track and field athlete who set several world records in the high jump using the straddle technique. As a youth, he earned the Eagle Scout award. At the age of 17, while a freshman at Boston University, Thomas became the first man to clear 7 feet indoors. He subsequently pushed the world indoor record to 7'1½", and broke the world outdoor record three times, with a career best jump of 7'3¾" in 1960, at the age of 19.
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The men's high jump was an event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There were 38 competitors from 28 nations, with one non-starter. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Charles Austin of the United States, the nation's first victory in the men's high jump since 1968 and 13th overall. Artur Partyka of Poland became the seventh man to win two medals in the event, following his 1992 bronze with silver in these Games. Steve Smith's bronze was Great Britain's first medal in the men's high jump since 1908.
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Valeriy Sergeyevich Skvortsov (Russian: Валерий Скворцов; was a high jumper who represented the USSR in the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics.
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The men's high jump at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 17–19 August at the Beijing Olympic Stadium. Forty athletes from 28 nations competed. The event was won by Andrey Silnov of Russia, the nation's second victory in the men's high jump. Germaine Mason's silver was Great Britain's first medal in the event since 1996, and matched the nation's best-ever result. Silnov's countryman Yaroslav Rybakov won bronze, marking the first time since 1988 that a nation had two medalists in the men's high jump in the same Games. Reigning world champion Donald Thomas, who cleared 2.32 metres at Osaka 2007, finished in twenty-first place and failed to advance into the final round. For the first time, no American made the final.
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The men's long jump event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich was held on 8 & 9 of September. Thirty-six athletes from 25 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 6cm by Randy Williams of the United States, the nation's second consecutive and 15th overall gold medal in the men's long jump. Hans Baumgartner earned West Germany's first medal in the event.
The men's high jump field event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place on September 9 and 10 at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany. Forty athletes from 26 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Jüri Tarmak of the Soviet Union; he was the last man to win an Olympic gold medal using the straddle technique. The more popular and more widely used Fosbury Flop technique was the most common technique used.
The men's high jump was one of four men's jumping events on the Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics program in Mexico City. Thirty-nine athletes from 25 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. Dick Fosbury won by using a backward jumping style that was called the Fosbury Flop. This was the unveiling of the new style on the world stage. The style completely revolutionized the sport. By the mid 1970s and ever since, virtually all of the top competitors were using the new style.
The men's high jump at the 1976 Summer Olympics took place on July 30 and 31 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada. Thirty-seven athletes from 23 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Jacek Wszoła of Poland, breaking the US/USSR hold on the men's high jump title. It was Poland's first medal in the event. Greg Joy's silver was Canada's first medal in the event since 1932. Dwight Stones won his second consecutive bronze medal, becoming the third man to win multiple medals in the high jump and keeping the United States' streak of podium appearances alive one final time. The Soviet streak of five Games with podium appearances in the event ended.
Viktor Bolshov is a retired Soviet high jumper. He competed in the 1960 Olympics finishing fourth behind his teammates Robert Shavlakadze, world record holder Valery Brumel and American John Thomas. During the course of the competition all four equaled the Olympic record, Shavlakadze, the first jumper in the order set the record first. Based on current rules, Bolshov would have tied Thomas for the bronze medal, but at the time jumpers were penalized for the number of attempts and Bolshov took seven attempts during the competition to Thomas' five.