High Jump
Vertical jumping event in which athletes clear a horizontal bar without the aid of any apparatus, using the Fosbury Flop back-arch technique — current world records: 2.45 m (men) and 2.09 m (women).
What is High Jump?
High jump is a track-and-field event in which athletes take a curved approach and jump over a horizontal bar without any device to assist them. The bar height increases progressively; athletes have three attempts per height and are eliminated after three consecutive failures. The Fosbury Flop, introduced by Dick Fosbury at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, revolutionised the event — jumpers now go over the bar head-first, back-arched, and land on their back on foam mattresses. The technique replaced older forms (Straddle, Scissors, Western Roll, Eastern Cut-off). Current world records: Javier Sotomayor's 2.45 m (Salamanca 1993) has stood over 30 years for men; Yaroslava Mahuchikh's 2.10 m (Paris 2024) set the women's WR. High jump is contested at every Olympic Games since 1896 (men) and 1928 (women).
Quick facts
Category
Athletics
Type
Individual
Players
1–20
Duration
~3 min
Where played
outdoor
Field / court
high jump apron + landing pit
Country of origin
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Estimated origin
Ancient natural practice; formal competitive high jumping mid-1800s UK; Olympic since 1896
Olympic
Yes
Popularity
global
How it works
Objective
Clear the highest bar. 3 attempts per height. Winner = highest cleared; ties broken by attempts.
Match structure
Bar starts at a moderate height. Each athlete decides whether to attempt or pass. 3 misses at any height = eliminated. Bar rises in 2-5 cm increments toward end of competition. Highest cleared wins; ties broken by fewest attempts at winning height and fewest total misses.
Rules
Basic rules
Curved approach
Athletes run in a J-shaped or curved approach to generate rotational speed for the Fosbury Flop.
Take-off leg
One-footed take-off from the ground; leg opposite the bar (right leg for J-approach from right).
Body clearance
Athlete arches back over the bar (Fosbury Flop); no body part may knock bar down.
3 attempts per height
3 misses at a single height = out. Athletes may pass heights entirely.
Bar height
Rises in 2-5 cm increments; the height at which two or more athletes tie is determined by count-back.
Advanced rules
Take-off / plant location
Athletes plant take-off foot at a consistent distance from the pit (65-90 cm typically).
Count-back tiebreak
If tied at highest height, athlete with fewer misses at that height wins; still tied = fewer total misses; still tied = jump-off.
Jump-off
Very rare — athletes alternate attempts at incremented heights until one wins.
Passing strategy
Skipping heights conserves energy but risks entering competition higher without warm-up.
Bar contact rule
Touching the bar isn't a fail if bar doesn't fall; but rare.
Scoring
Highest cleared height wins; ties broken by count-back rule.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Clear a height | Advance to next |
| 3 consecutive misses | Eliminated |
| Tiebreak 1 | Fewest attempts at winning height |
| Tiebreak 2 | Fewest total misses |
| Tiebreak 3 | Jump-off (extremely rare) |
Win condition · Highest cleared height wins; medal awarded top 3 at major championships.
Playing area
Called
high jump apron + landing pit
Dimensions
Curved runway minimum 15 m long; landing pit 6m × 4m × 0.7 m foam.
Sector with curved approach runway ending at bar; foam landing pit behind bar and standards.
Equipment
Crossbar
Fibreglass, 4 m long, ~3 kg; sits on standards; dislodges if touched.
Uprights (standards)
Vertical posts holding crossbar; adjustable height 1.0-3.0 m.
Landing pit
Foam mattress 6×4×0.7 m minimum.
Spikes (jumping)
Specialised high-jump spikes with reinforced heel (take-off foot).
Officiating
Judges verify legal clearance; keep pace of the competition; time athletes for 60-sec-per-attempt clock.
- Chief Judge
- Field Judges (2-3)
- Recorder
Strategies
Master the approach curve
J-approach must be consistent — 8-12 strides ending with strong plant.
Take-off explosion
Convert horizontal speed to vertical using strong take-off leg drive.
Bar arch technique
Time the head-back / hip-thrust perfectly to arch OVER the bar.
Passing strategy
Skip 3 heights to save energy for the winning height.
Terminology
- Fosbury Flop
- Back-first, head-first arch-over-bar technique invented 1968.
- Straddle
- Face-down parallel-to-bar technique used before Fosbury Flop era.
- Approach
- Curved run-up to the bar (J-shape or C-shape).
- Take-off
- Single-foot leap that launches the vaulter upward.
- Plant
- Place take-off foot at a consistent spot from the pit.
- Standards
- The two vertical posts holding the crossbar.
- Count-back
- Tiebreak rule: fewer attempts at final height wins.
- PB / SB / WR
- Personal Best / Season Best / World Record.
Major competitions
Olympic Games high jump
quadrennial · worldwide · since 1896
World Athletics Championships
biennial · worldwide · since 1983
Diamond League high jump
annual · worldwide · since 2010
Where it is played
Governing bodies
World Athletics
Founded 1912 · Monaco
Official site ↗
Famous names & records
Famous athletes
- Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) — 2.45 m WR (1993), still standing
- Dick Fosbury (USA) — inventor of Fosbury Flop, 1968 Olympic gold
- Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) — 2.09 m women's WR (1987, broken 2024)
- Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine) — 2.10 m WR (Paris 2024)
- Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) — Olympic 2020 gold (shared with Tamberi)
- Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy) — Olympic 2020 gold (shared with Barshim)
- Charles Austin (USA) — 1996 Olympic gold; American record 2.40 m
- Blanka Vlašić (Croatia) — 2× World Champion
- Nicola McDermott (Australia) — 2020 Olympic silver
Records
Men's HJ WR
Javier Sotomayor (CUB) — 2.45 m (Salamanca 1993) (1993)
Women's HJ WR
Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) — 2.10 m (Paris 2024) (2024)
Longest-standing men's WR
Javier Sotomayor — 31+ years and counting (2024)
Barshim-Tamberi shared gold
2020 Tokyo Olympics — First shared HJ gold ever (2020)
Learn this sport
beginner
- 1
Learn the scissors kick
Precursor technique for young jumpers; safer than immediate Fosbury.
- 2
Progress to Fosbury
Once foam pit is available, learn the arch-back Flop.
- 3
Approach practice
Consistent 8-10 stride J-curve.
intermediate
- 1
Bar clearance drills
Video-analyse bar profile; adjust take-off point.
- 2
Junior nationals
Age-grouped competition builds confidence at 1.60-1.90 m range.
advanced
- 1
2m+ clearances
Requires elite vertical leap (~1.0 m standing) + technique perfection.
- 2
Diamond League / World Championships
Top-tier professional circuit.
Frequently asked
What's the world record?+
Men: 2.45 m by Javier Sotomayor (Cuba, 1993) — 31+ years standing. Women: 2.10 m by Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine, Paris 2024).
What is the Fosbury Flop?+
Head-first, back-arched technique introduced by American Dick Fosbury at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Fosbury won gold with 2.24 m. Within a decade, virtually all elite jumpers used the flop.
Why do jumpers arch their backs?+
The Fosbury Flop technique allows the athlete's centre of gravity to pass UNDER the bar while their body arches OVER it — extracting maximum height from vertical velocity.
Why did Barshim and Tamberi share gold?+
At Tokyo 2020, both cleared 2.37 m without failure. Rather than take a jump-off tiebreak, they accepted joint gold — a moment celebrated as one of the Olympics' most sportsmanlike.
How long has Sotomayor's WR stood?+
Set July 27, 1993 in Salamanca, Spain. As of 2024 (31 years later) no jumper has cleared 2.46 m in competition. It's one of the longest-standing world records in athletics.
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — High jump— Wikipedia
- World Athletics — High jump— World Athletics