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.
Richard Douglas Fosbury was an American high jumper, who is considered one of the most influential athletes in the history of track and field. He won a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics, revolutionizing the high jump event with a "back-first" technique now known as the Fosbury flop. His method was to sprint diagonally towards the bar, then curve and leap backward over the bar, which gave him a much lower center of mass in flight than traditional techniques. Debbie Brill was developing her similar "Brill Bend" around the same time. This approach has seen nearly universal adoption since Fosbury's performance in Mexico. Though he never returned to the Olympics, Fosbury continued to be involved in athletics after retirement and served on the executive board of the World Olympians Association.
The men's high jump competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 20–22 August. Thirty-eight athletes from 27 nations competed. The event was won by Stefan Holm of Sweden, the nation's first victory in the men's high jump and first medal in the event since Patrik Sjöberg won three in a row from 1984 to 1992. Matt Hemingway took silver, returning the United States to the podium after a one-Games absence. Jaroslav Bába's bronze was the first medal in the event for the Czech Republic.
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. 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.
At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, 36 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 12 for women. There were a total number of 1031 participating athletes from 93 countries.
The men's high jump competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, had an entry list of 27 competitors from 18 nations, with two qualifying groups before the final (16) took place on Sunday September 25, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. There were two bronze medals awarded. The event was won by Hennadiy Avdyeyenko of the Soviet Union, the nation's first victory in the men's high jump since 1972 and fourth overall. Hollis Conway's silver returned the United States to the podium after a two-Games absence that had disrupted the American streak of medaling in every Olympic men's high jump. Patrik Sjöberg's bronze made Sweden the fourth nation to medal in two consecutive Games, after the United States, the Soviet Union, and France. The other bronze medal went to Rudolf Povarnitsyn of the Soviet Union after the countback could not break the tie for third.
The men's high jump was an event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There were 43 participating athletes from 27 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The qualification mark was set at 2.29 metres. The event was won by Javier Sotomayor of Cuba, the nation's first victory in the men's high jump. Patrik Sjöberg of Sweden earned silver, becoming the first man to win a third medal in the event, though he never won gold. Sweden was only the third country to have three consecutive podium appearances. A three-way tie for third could not be resolved by countback, so bronze medals were awarded to Tim Forsyth, Artur Partyka, and Hollis Conway.
Valeriy Sergeyevich Skvortsov (Russian: Валерий Скворцов; was a high jumper who represented the USSR in the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics.
The men's triple jump event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 45 competitors, with 43 athletes from 31 nations starting in two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Saturday September 24, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Khristo Markov of Bulgaria, the nation's first medal and victory in the men's triple jump. Igor Lapshin and Aleksandr Kovalenko of the Soviet Union took silver and bronze in an event where the Soviets had reached the podium eight consecutive Games before the 1984 boycott.
The men's high jump event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on 10–11 August 1984. Thirty athletes from 20 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Dietmar Mögenburg of West Germany, the nation's first victory in the men's high jump. Patrik Sjöberg's silver was Sweden's first medal in the event since 1920. Zhu Jianhua won bronze in the People's Republic of China's first appearance. The United States, which had made the podium in each of the 18 editions of the high jump before the 1980 boycott, now missed the podium for the first time in which the country competed, as Dwight Stones in fourth place fell just short of becoming the first man to earn three medals in the event.
The men's high jump event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union, had an entry list of 30 competitors from 19 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was held on Friday 1 August 1980. The event was won by Gerd Wessig of East Germany, the first gold medal by a German athlete in the men's high jump. It was also the first time a world record in the high jump had been set at the Olympics. Jörg Freimuth took bronze, making East Germany the third nation to have two medalists in the event in the same Games. Defending champion Jacek Wszoła of Poland took silver, becoming the fourth man to win two high jump medals and matching Valeriy Brumel for best results at one gold and one silver. Through the 2016 Games, Wszoła, Brumel, and Javier Sotomayor remain the most successful Olympic men's high jumpers; no high jumper has won two gold medals, or one gold and two silvers. Due at least in part to the American-led boycott, the United States' streak of making the podium in every Olympic men's high jump event to date ended.
The men's high jump event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Olympic Stadium on Friday, 22 September and Sunday, 24 September. Thirty-five athletes from 24 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The high jump has been ever present since the beginning of the modern Olympic Games in 1896. The event was won by Sergey Klyugin of Russia, the nation's first medal and victory in the men's high jump in the nation's first appearance after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Javier Sotomayor of Cuba was the eighth man to win a second medal in the event ; he joined Valeriy Brumel and Jacek Wszoła as the most successful Olympic high jumpers in history with a gold and a silver—despite missing the 1984 and 1988 Games due to boycott and being hampered by injury in 1996. Abderrahmane Hammad's bronze was Algeria's first medal in the men's high jump.
The men's high jump event at the 1932 Olympic Games took place July 31. It was a final only format, no heats or qualifying jumps. Fourteen athletes from 10 nations competed. The 1930 Olympic Congress in Berlin had reduced the limit from 4 athletes per NOC to 3 athletes. The event was won by Duncan McNaughton of Canada, breaking the United States' dominance over the event; McNaughton was the first non-American to win. Bob Van Osdel of the United States took silver, while Simeon Toribio earned the Philippines' first medal in any track & field athletics event.
The men's high jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on August 2, 1936. Forty athletes from 24 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by Cornelius Johnson of the United States. It was the nation's ninth victory in the men's high jump. Johnson's fellow Americans Dave Albritton and Delos Thurber took silver and bronze to complete the podium sweep, the second time the United States had taken all three medals in the event.
The men's high jump field event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place on September 1. Thirty-two 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 Robert Shavlakadze of the Soviet Union, the nation's first victory in the men's high jump. Valery Brumel took silver; both men surpassed the previous best placing for the Soviet team of bronze. American John Thomas took bronze to keep alive the United States' streak of medaling in every edition of the Olympic men's high jump.
The men's high jump competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 5–7 August. Thirty-five athletes from 27 nations competed. The event was won by Ivan Ukhov of Russia, the nation's second consecutive and third overall victory in the men's high jump. On February 1, 2019, Ukhov was stripped of the gold medal by the Court of Arbitration in Sport for doping offenses. Erik Kynard's silver returned the United States to the men's high jump podium after a one-Games absence. A three-way tie for third resulted in bronze medals for Derek Drouin, Robert Grabarz, and Mutaz Essa Barshim. In 2021, the medals were reallocated; Kynard received the gold medal, while Drouin, Grabarz and Barshim were all promoted to the silver.
The men's triple jump event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich was held on 3 & 4 of September. Thirty-six athletes from 28 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Viktor Saneyev of the Soviet Union, the fourth man to repeat as Olympic champion in the triple jump. The Soviets were on the podium in the event for the sixth consecutive Games. Jörg Drehmel of East Germany won the first men's triple jump medal by any German jumper. Nelson Prudêncio of Brazil was the ninth man to win a second medal in the event, following up his 1968 silver with bronze in Munich.
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 at the 1952 Olympic Games took place on 20 July at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Thirty-six athletes from 24 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. American athlete Walt Davis won the gold medal and set a new Olympic record. It was the Americans' 10th victory in the men's high jump. José da Conceição won Brazil's first medal in the men's high jump, with bronze.
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.
