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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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 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 long jump field event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place on September 2. Forty-nine athletes from 34 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 1cm by Ralph Boston of the United States, the nation's eighth consecutive and 13th overall victory in the men's long jump. Igor Ter-Ovanesyan's bronze was the Soviet Union's first medal 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 triple jump field event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place on September 6. Thirty-nine athletes from 24 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. Józef Szmidt of Poland won the gold medal. It was Poland's first medal and first victory in the men's triple jump. Vitold Kreyer of the Soviet Union repeated his bronze medal performance from 1956, becoming the sixth man to win two medals in the event. His countryman Vladimir Goryaev took silver; this made the Soviet Union the fourth nation to have two men on the podium in the same year in the triple jump and the fourth nation to reach the podium three Games in a row.
The men's pole vault field event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place on September 5 and September 7. Twenty-nine 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 Don Bragg of the United States, the nation's 14th consecutive victory in the men's pole vault. Ron Morris took silver, making it three straight Games the American team had finished 1–2. Eeles Landström's bronze was Finland's first medal in the event since 1948.
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 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 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 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.
