A Page From the history of High Jump Essay Example

ruled by American and Russian jumpers for the next forty years. Another technique that evolved during that time as a sister to the western roll was the straddle technique. This one, took off in the same way as the western roll but then the player would roll with his/her belly down around the bar the clearance this technique achieved was phenomenal. It also helped Charles Dumas achieve the much coveted 7ft length in 1956. Many jumpers exceeded this record and then came Valery Brumel who stood unfettered from 1960 till 1964 when he won the Olympic gold medal for running up till 7ft and 6 inches. But his career came to a sad and abrupt end in a motorbike accident shortly after that, ending with it the many hopes of future achievements that he had given his coaches, fans and supporters.

Since its beginning high jumpers have been very experimenting with their techniques and that has made the game achieve its current set of rules and status. The current and the longest standing record in men’s history was made by Javier Sotomayor from Cuba, his jump was 2.45 metres i.e. 8ft 0.46 in long and the record has not been broken since the year 1993.

The longest women’s record is accredited to Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria since 1987 for a 2.09 metres or a 6 ft 10.28 in long high jump.