The first world record in the men's high jump was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 1912.
As of June, 2009, the IAAF has ratified 40 world records in the event. [1]
Fourteen of the 16 records from 1912 to 1960 were set in the United States and were originally measured in feet and inches; they were converted to metric before being ratified as world records. As of January 1, 1963, records were accepted as metric marks, with marks measured in feet and inches to the nearest quarter-inch and rounded down to the nearest centimetre. [2] : vii, 155–157 When measurements were taken in feet and inches the bar could be raised, for record-attempt purposes, in increments of one-quarter inch. Under the metric system, a new record must be (at least) one centimeter higher. In 1973, American Dwight Stones was the first Fosbury Flop jumper to set a world record. The namesake of the technique, Dick Fosbury impressed the world by winning the 1968 Olympics with the flop, but never held the world record. The last Straddle style jumper to hold the World Record was Vladimir Yashchenko (Soviet Union/Ukraine) in 1978; all record-setters since then have used the Flop technique.
The world record of 2.45 metres (8.04 ft) by Cuban Javier Sotomayor in 1993 has never been surpassed.
Ratified | |
Ratified but later rescinded |
Mark | Athlete | Venue | Date |
---|---|---|---|
1.575 m (5 ft 2 in) | ![]() | Innerleithen | September 26, 1827 [3] |
1.60 m (5 ft 2+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Innerleithen | July 24, 1829 [3] |
1.60 m (5 ft 2+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Mount Benger | May 6, 1837 [3] |
1.675 m (5 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Dalkeith | August 5, 1839 [3] |
1.675 m (5 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Newcastle | April 1, 1850 [3] |
1.675 m (5 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Woolwich | September 21, 1850 [3] |
1.675 m (5 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Cambridge | March 17, 1857 [3] |
1.675 m (5 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Oxford | March 15, 1860 [3] |
1.70 m (5 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Harrow | March 27, 1860 [3] |
1.675 m (5 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Liverpool | June 13, 1863 [3] |
1.675 m (5 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Liverpool | June 13, 1863 [3] |
1.675 m (5 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Durham | September 2, 1863 [3] |
1.70 m (5 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Liverpool | July 9, 1864 [3] |
1.725 m (5 ft 7+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Cambridge | March 5, 1866 [3] |
1.75 m (5 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | London | March 23, 1866 [3] |
1.75 m (5 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | London | March 23, 1866 [3] |
1.75 m (5 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | London | November 26, 1866 [3] |
1.75 m (5 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | London | November 26, 1866 [3] |
1.75 m (5 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | London | April 12, 1867 [3] |
1.75 m (5 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | London | April 9, 1870 [3] |
1.755 m (5 ft 9 in) | ![]() | London | April 3, 1871 [3] |
1.785 m (5 ft 10+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Dublin | July 7, 1873 [3] |
1.80 m (5 ft 10+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | London | March 30, 1874 [3] |
1.80 m (5 ft 10+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | London | March 22, 1875 [3] |
1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ![]() | Oxford | March 17, 1876 [3] |
1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | London | April 7, 1876 [3] |
1.90 m (6 ft 2+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Carrick | July 5, 1880 [3] |
1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ![]() | Stourbridge | August 15, 1887 [3] |
1.93 m (6 ft 3+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Philadelphia | October 7, 1887 [3] |
1.968 m (6 ft 5+1⁄4 in) [lower-alpha 1] | ![]() | Haytor Camp | August 6, 1890 [3] |
1.935 m (6 ft 4 in) | ![]() | New York City | October 8, 1892 [3] |
1.945 m (6 ft 4+1⁄2 in) | ![]() | Tipperary | August 19, 1895 [3] |
1.955 m (6 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | New York City | August 28, 1895 [3] |
1.955 m (6 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Bayonne | September 2, 1895 [3] |
1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | ![]() | New York City | September 21, 1895 [3] [4] [5] |
1.98 m (6 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Palo Alto | March 29, 1912 [3] |
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) [lower-alpha 2] | ![]() | United States | April/May 1912 [6] |
Mark | Athlete | Venue | Date |
---|---|---|---|
2.00 m (6 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | ![]() | Palo Alto, California | 18 May 1912 [1] |
2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) | ![]() | Berkeley, California | 2 May 1914 [7] |
2.03 m (6 ft 7+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Urbana, Illinois | 27 May 1924 [8] |
2.04 m (6 ft 8+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Fresno, California | 13 May 1933 [1] |
2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) | ![]() | Palo Alto, California | 28 April 1934 [1] |
2.07 m (6 ft 9+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | New York | 12 July 1936 [1] |
2.07 m (6 ft 9+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | New York | 12 July 1936 [1] |
2.09 m (6 ft 10+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Malmö, Sweden | 12 August 1937 [1] |
2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) | ![]() | Los Angeles | 17 June 1941 [1] |
2.12 m (6 ft 11+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Dayton, Ohio | 27 June 1953 [1] |
2.15 m (7 ft 1⁄2 in) | ![]() | Los Angeles | 29 June 1956 [1] |
2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) | ![]() | Leningrad, Soviet Union | 13 July 1957 [1] |
2.17 m (7 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Philadelphia | 30 April 1960 [1] |
2.17 m (7 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 21 May 1960 [1] |
2.18 m (7 ft 1+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Bakersfield, California | 24 June 1960 [1] |
2.22 m (7 ft 3+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Palo Alto, California | 1 July 1960 [1] |
2.23 m (7 ft 3+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Moscow | 18 June 1961 [1] |
2.24 m (7 ft 4 in) | ![]() | Moscow | 16 July 1961 [1] |
2.25 m (7 ft 4+1⁄2 in) | ![]() | Sofia, Bulgaria | 31 August 1961 [1] |
2.26 m (7 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Palo Alto, California | 22 July 1962 [1] |
2.27 m (7 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Moscow | 29 September 1962 [1] |
2.28 m (7 ft 5+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Moscow | 21 July 1963 [1] |
2.29 m (7 ft 6 in) | ![]() | Berkeley, California | 3 July 1971 [1] |
2.30 m (7 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | ![]() | Munich | 11 July 1973 [1] |
2.31 m (7 ft 6+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Philadelphia | 5 June 1976 [1] |
2.32 m (7 ft 7+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Philadelphia | 4 August 1976 [1] |
2.33 m (7 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | ![]() | Richmond, Virginia | 2 June 1977 [1] |
2.34 m (7 ft 8 in) | ![]() | Tbilisi, Soviet Union | 16 June 1978 [1] |
2.35 m (7 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | ![]() | Eberstadt, West Germany | 25 May 1980 [1] |
2.35 m (7 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | ![]() | Rehlingen, West Germany | 26 May 1980 [1] |
2.36 m (7 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Moscow, Soviet Union | 1 August 1980 [1] |
2.37 m (7 ft 9+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Beijing, China | 11 June 1983 [1] |
2.38 m (7 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ![]() | Shanghai, China | 22 September 1983 [1] |
2.39 m (7 ft 10 in) | ![]() | Eberstadt, West Germany | 10 June 1984 [1] |
2.40 m (7 ft 10+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Donetsk, Soviet Union | 11 August 1985 [1] |
2.41 m (7 ft 10+3⁄4 in) | ![]() | Kobe, Japan | 4 September 1985 [1] |
2.42 m (7 ft 11+1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Stockholm, Sweden | 30 June 1987 [1] |
2.42 m (7 ft 11+1⁄4 in) i | ![]() | West Berlin | 26 February 1988 [9] : 160 [lower-alpha 3] |
2.43 m (7 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ![]() | Salamanca, Spain | 8 September 1988 [1] |
2.44 m (8 ft 0 in) | ![]() | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 29 July 1989 [1] |
2.45 m (8 ft 1⁄4 in) | ![]() | Salamanca, Spain | 27 July 1993 [1] |
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