Competitors jump unaided (taking off from one foot) over a 4m-long horizontal bar. They seek to clear the greatest height without knocking the bar to the ground.
All competitors have three attempts per height, although they can elect to ‘pass’, i.e. advance to a greater height despite not having cleared the current one. Three consecutive failures at the same height, or combination of heights, cause a competitor’s elimination.
If competitors are tied on the same height, the winner will have had the least failures at that height. If competitors are still tied, the winner will have had the least failures across the entire competition. Thereafter, a jump-off will decide the winner.

The first recorded high jump competition took place in Scotland in the 19th century, and the event was incorporated into the first Modern Olympics of 1896.
Of the field events, the high jump has undergone the most radical changes of technique: the Eastern Cut-off, Western Roll and Straddle are methods previously used by the world’s elite. But now the Fosbury Flop, invented by 1968 Olympic champion Dick Fosbury, is pre-eminent.

Very few of the world’s best high jumpers of the past 40 years have used anything other than the Fosbury Flop. However, Christian Schenk, the East German Olympic decathlon champion of 1988, could clear 2.25m using the Straddle. 

Russia has supplied the past two Olympic women’s gold medallists and a number of the top male contenders. The USA has amassed 41 Olympic high jump medals. The Bahamas and Croatia boast the current male and female world champions.

Javier Sotomayor
The Cuban still holds the outdoor and indoor world records: 2.45m and 2.43m respectively. He also won gold at the 1992 Olympics, and world titles in 1993 and 1997.

Iolanda Balas
The Romanian won 140 consecutive competitions between 1957-1967 and set 14 world records. She also won Olympic gold in Rome (1960) and Tokyo (1964).