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high jump


n.
  1. A jump for height made over a horizontal bar in a track-and-field contest.
  2. A contest in which high jumps are made.
highjumper high jumper n.
 
 

Track-and-field event of jumping for height. The equipment includes a semicircular runway allowing an approach run of at least 49 ft (15 m), the raised bar and its vertical supports, and a cushioned landing area. Jumpers must leave the ground from one foot. Three failed jumps at a height result in disqualification. Early jumping styles, including the near-erect scissors jump and the facedown Western roll-and-straddle, were largely superseded from 1968 by the faceup "Fosbury flop," named for its leading proponent, the U.S. jumper Dick Fosbury.

For more information on high jump, visit Britannica.com.

 
WordNet: high jump
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a competition that involves jumping as high as possible over a horizontal high bar


 
Wikipedia: high jump

The high jump is an athletics (track and field) event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without aid of any devices. It has been contested since the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. Over the centuries since, competitors have introduced increasingly more effective techniques to arrive at the current form. Javier Sotomayor(Cuba) is both the indoor and outdoor world record holder in this event with jumps of 2.43 m (8 feet) and 2.45 m (8 feet ½ inch), respectively. Sotomayor's record, set in 1993, is the longest standing in the history of the men's high jump. Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) has held the women's world record since 1987, the longest standing record in overall history of the sport.

History


Gold medal winner Ethel Catherwood of Canada scissors over the bar at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Her winning result was 1.59 m.
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Gold medal winner Ethel Catherwood of Canada scissors over the bar at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Her winning result was 1.59 m.
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Performed as early as the Olympics in ancient Greece, the first recorded high jump event took place in Scotland in the 19th century, with heights of up to (1.68 m) contested. 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, the Sweeney achieved a more economic clearance and raised the world record to 6' 5⅝" (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' 7" (2.01 m) in 1912. His technique predominated through the Berlin Olympics of 1936, in which the event was won by Cornelius Johnson at 2.03 m (6' 8").

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 to date. Straddle-jumper Charles Dumas broke the elusive 7' (2.13 m) barrier in 1956, and American wunderkind John Thomas pushed the world mark to 2.23 m (7' 3¾") 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 m (7' 5¾"), 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 m (7' 7¾") in 1977 and then 2.35 m (7' 8½") indoors in 1978.

Among renowned high jumpers following Fosbury's lead were: Americans Dwight Stones and his rival, 5' 8" (1.73 m) Franklin Jacobs of Paterson, NJ, who cleared 2.32 m (7' 7¼"), an astounding two feet (0.59 m) over his head; 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.

Procedures and rules

In a competition, the bar is initially set at a relatively low height, and is moved upward in set increments (usually 3 or 5 centimetres, approximately 2 inches, but can be as little as 1 cm for record attempts). Each competitor has the option of choosing at which height they wish to start, as long as the height is greater or equal to the designated starting height for that competition. The starting height is usually determined by the games committee for the competition.

Once a competitor has elected to begin, they receive three attempts at each height and once they clear a height, they are cleared until the next height. Competitors can choose whether or not to attempt subsequent heights. A competitor may choose to pass at a given height or, after failing to clear the bar at a given height, may "pass" on subsequent attempts at that height. Any competitor who records three consecutive misses is out of the competition. The competitor who clears the highest jump is declared the winner. If two or more competitors clear the same maximum height, the competitor with the least number of failed attempts at the best height cleared wins. If these are equal, the winner is the person who has had the least number of failures overall during the competition. If that fails to break a tie for first place, a jump off is conducted.

In a jump off, competitors are given one additional attempt at the last height attempted. If one of the competitors clears the height, they are considered the winner. If both competitors clear the height, the bar is moved up by 2 cm and the process is completed. If both competitors fail the height the bar is moved back down 2 cm. This process is repeated until one competitor clears a height and the other fails. If the final height of the jump off is less than the highest height cleared during regular competition, the highest height cleared during the competition will be recorded for the results. Heights obtained in such a jump off are eligible for records.

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The modern high jump bar is made of glass-reinforced plastic or aluminum. Other materials are allowed, but there are weight and sag restrictions. The bar is approximately 4 metres in length (IAAF rules control length for record purposes), with a round, triangular, or square cross-section for most of its length, and two square resting points at each end. It is placed at a measured height on two uprights, or standards, which allow the bar to rest on its ends at a measured height. Cleared heights are reported by measuring from the take-off level to the top edge of the lowest part of the bar. Directly behind the bar is a soft foam mat that allows for a safe landing. Competitors must jump off one foot to clear the bar. Although they may touch the bar in their clearance, the jump is ruled unsuccessful if the bar falls. In rare instances competitors have been allowed to retry an attempt where the bar has fallen. This may occur if the official declares that the bar fell due to external circumstances such as wind, rain or faulty equipment.

Top performers

Updated August 7, 2007

Men (outdoor)

Mark Athlete Nationality Venue Date
2.45 Javier Sotomayor Flag of Cuba Cuba Salamanca July 23, 1993
2.42 Patrik Sjöberg Flag of Sweden Sweden Stockholm June 30, 1987
2.41 Igor Paklin Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union / Flag of Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan Kobe September 4, 1985
2.40 Rudolf Povarnitsyn Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union / Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Donetsk August 11, 1985
Sorin Matei Flag of Romania Romania Bratislava June 20, 1990
Charles Austin Flag of the United States United States Zurich August 7, 1991
Vyacheslav Voronin Flag of Russia Russia London August 5, 2000
2.39 Jianhua Zhu Flag of the People's Republic of China China Eberstadt June 10, 1984
Hollis Conway Flag of the United States United States Norman July 30, 1989
2.38 Seven athletes
(Avdeyenko, Malchenko,
Topic, Kemp, Partyka,
Freitag, Sokolovskyy)
- - -

Women (outdoor)

Mark Athlete Nationality Venue Date
2.09 Stefka Kostadinova Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Rome August 30, 1987
2.07 Blanka Vlašić Flag of Croatia Croatia Stockholm August 7, 2007
Lyudmila Andonova Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Berlin July 20, 1984
2.06 Kajsa Bergqvist Flag of Sweden Sweden Eberstadt July 26, 2003
Hestrie Cloete Flag of South Africa South Africa Paris August 31, 2003
Yelena Slesarenko Flag of Russia Russia Athens August 28, 2004
2.05 Tamara Bykova Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union / Flag of Russia Russia Kiev June 22, 1984
Heike Henkel Flag of Germany Germany Tokyo August 31, 1991
Inha Babakova Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union / Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Tokyo September 15, 1995
2.04 Silvia Costa Flag of Cuba Cuba Barcelona September 9, 1989
Venelina Veneva Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Kalamata June 2, 2001

Men (indoor)

Mark Athlete Nationality Venue Date
2.43 Javier Sotomayor Flag of Cuba Cuba Budapest 4 March 1989
2.42 Carlo Thränhardt Flag of West Germany West Germany Berlin 26 February 1988
2.41 Patrik Sjöberg Flag of Sweden Sweden Piraeus 1 February 1987
2.40 Hollis Conway Flag of the United States United States Seville 10 March 1991
Stefan Holm Flag of Sweden Sweden Madrid 6 March 2005
2.39 Dietmar Mögenburg Flag of West Germany West Germany Cologne 24 February 1985
Ralf Sonn Flag of Germany Germany Berlin 1 March 1991
Ivan Ukhov Flag of Russia Russia Moscow 28 January 2007
2.38 Eight athletes
(Paklin, Avdeyenko,
Smith, Beyer, Matei,
Hemingway, Rybakov, Thörnblad)
- - -

Women (indoor)

Mark Athlete Nationality Venue Date
2.08 Kajsa Bergqvist Flag of Sweden Sweden Arnstadt 4 February 2006
2.07 Heike Henkel Flag of Germany Germany Karlsruhe 8 February 1992
2.06 Stefka Kostadinova Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Piraeus 20 February 1988
2.05 Blanka Vlašić Flag of Croatia Croatia Banská Bystrica 14 February 2006
Tia Hellebaut Flag of Belgium Belgium Birmingham 3 March 2007
2.04 Alina Astafei Flag of Germany Germany Berlin 3 March 1995
Anna Chicherova Flag of Russia Russia Yekaterinburg 7 February 2003
Yelena Slesarenko Flag of Russia Russia Budapest 7 March 2004
2.03 Tamara Bykova Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union Budapest 6 March 1983
Monica Iagar Flag of Romania Romania Bucharest 23 January 1999
Marina Kuptsova Flag of Russia Russia Vienna 2 March 2002

See also

References

External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Athletics events

Sprints: 60 m | 100 m | 200 m | 400 m

Hurdles: 60 m hurdles | 100 m hurdles | 110 m hurdles | 400 m hurdles

Middle distance: 800 m | 1500 m | 3000 m | steeplechase

Long distance: 5,000 m | 10,000 m | half marathon | marathon | ultramarathon | multiday races | Cross country running

Relays: 4 × 100 m | 4 × 400 m;       Racewalking;       Wheelchair racing

Throws: Discus | Hammer | Javelin | Shot put

Jumps: High jump | Long jump | Pole vault | Triple jump

Combination: Pentathlon | Heptathlon | Decathlon

Highly uncommon: Standing high jump | Standing long jump | Standing triple jump


 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "High jump" Read more

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