Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's high jump

The men's high jump competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, had an entry list of 27 competitors from 18 nations, with two qualifying groups (27 jumpers) before the final (16) took place on Sunday September 25, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. There were two bronze medals awarded.[1] The event was won by Hennadiy Avdyeyenko of the Soviet Union, the nation's first victory in the men's high jump since 1972 and fourth overall. Hollis Conway's silver returned the United States to the podium after a two-Games absence (boycotted in 1980; best place was fourth in 1984) that had disrupted the American streak of medaling in every Olympic men's high jump. Patrik Sjöberg's bronze made Sweden the fourth nation (and Sjöberg the fifth man) to medal in two consecutive Games, after the United States, the Soviet Union, and France. The other bronze medal went to Rudolf Povarnitsyn of the Soviet Union after the countback could not break the tie for third.

Men's high jump
at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad
VenueOlympic Stadium
Date25 September
Competitors27 from 18 nations
Winning height2.38 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Hennadiy Avdyeyenko
 Soviet Union
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Hollis Conway
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Rudolf Povarnitsyn
 Soviet Union
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Patrik Sjöberg
 Sweden
← 1984
1992 →

Background

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This was the 21st appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1984 Games were gold medalist Dietmar Mögenburg of West Germany, silver medalist Patrik Sjöberg of Sweden, bronze medalist Zhu Jianhua of China, sixth-place finisher Milton Ottey of Canada, and tenth-place finisher Carlo Thränhardt of West Germany. For the third straight Games, a boycott affected the high jump favorites; this time, world record holder Javier Sotomayor of Cuba was unable to compete. Without Sotomayor, it was difficult to select a favorite among the strong field which included five former world record holders. All three of the returning medalists had held the record at some point, as had Soviet team members Rudolf Povarnitsyn and Igor Paklin. The third Soviet, Hennadiy Avdyeyenko, had won the world championship in 1983 before missing the 1984 Games due to the boycott. Sjöberg was the reigning (1987) world champion.[2]

Burkina Faso made its debut in the event. The United States made its 20th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

Competition format

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The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1912. There were two distinct rounds of jumping with results cleared between rounds. Jumpers were eliminated if they had three consecutive failures, whether at a single height or between multiple heights if they attempted to advance before clearing a height.

The qualifying round had the bar set at 2.05 metres, 2.10 metres, 2.15 metres, 2.19 metres, 2.22 metres, 2.25 metres, and 2.28 metres. All jumpers clearing 2.28 metres in the qualifying round advanced to the final. If fewer than 12 jumpers could achieve it, the top 12 (including ties) would advance to the final.

The final had jumps at 2.15 metres, 2.20 metres, 2.25 metres, 2.28 metres, 2.31 metres, 2.34 metres, 2.36 metres, 2.38 metres, and 2.40 metres.[2][3]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1988 Summer Olympics.

World record   Javier Sotomayor (CUB) 2.43 Salamanca, Spain 8 September 1988
Olympic record   Gerd Wessig (GDR) 2.36 Moscow, Soviet Union 1 August 1980

All four medalists matched the Olympic record at 2.36 metres before Hennadiy Avdyeyenko broke it at 2.38 metres to win the gold.

Schedule

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All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)

Date Time Round
Saturday, 24 September 1988 12:00 Qualifying
Sunday, 25 September 1988 12:10 Final

Results

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Key

  • o = Height cleared
  • x = Height failed
  • = Height passed
  • r  = Retired
  • SB = Season's best
  • PB = Personal best
  • NR = National record
  • AR = Area record
  • OR = Olympic record
  • WR = World record
  • WL = World lead
  • NM = No mark
  • DNS = Did not start
  • DQ = Disqualified

Qualifying

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Qualification: Qualifying Performance 2.28 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the final.

Rank Group Athlete Nation 2.05 2.10 2.15 2.19 2.22 2.25 2.28 Height Notes
1 A Dietmar Mögenburg   West Germany o o o 2.28 Q
A Igor Paklin   Soviet Union o o o 2.28 Q
3 A Geoff Parsons   Great Britain o xo o 2.28 Q
4 A Clarence Saunders   Bermuda o xxo o 2.28 Q
5 A Dalton Grant   Great Britain o xo xo 2.28 Q
A Hollis Conway   United States o o xo xo 2.28 Q
7 A Arturo Ortiz   Spain o o xo xo xo 2.28 Q
8 B Patrik Sjöberg   Sweden o o o 2.25 q
9 A Robert Ruffini   Czechoslovakia o o xo o xxx 2.25 q
B Rudolf Povarnitsyn   Soviet Union xo o o 2.25 q
B Brian Stanton   United States o o xo o 2.25 q
12 B Hennadiy Avdyeyenko   Soviet Union o xxo o 2.25 q
13 B Carlo Thränhardt   West Germany o xo 2.25 q
B Jim Howard   United States o o o xo 2.25 q
15 B Krzysztof Krawczyk   Poland o xo xo 2.25 q
16 A Luca Toso   Italy o xo xxo xxx 2.25 q
17 B Milton Ottey   Canada xo o xxx 2.22
18 B Cho Hyun-wook   South Korea o o xxo xxx 2.22
19 B Brian Marshall   Canada o xxo xxo xxo xxx 2.22
20 A Troy Kemp   Bahamas o o xxx 2.19
A Sorin Matei   Romania o xxx 2.19
B Artur Partyka   Poland o o o xxx 2.19
23 B Zhu Jianhua   China o xo xxx 2.19
24 A Floyd Manderson   Great Britain o o o xxo xxx 2.19
25 A Paul Ngadjadoum   Chad o o o r 2.15
26 B Fernando Pastoriza   Argentina o o xxx 2.10
B Cheick Seynou   Burkina Faso xxx No mark

Final

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The competition was marked by "passes and tactical maneuvers."[2]

Rank Athlete Nation 2.15 2.20 2.25 2.28 2.31 2.34 2.36 2.38 2.40 2.44 Height Notes
  Hennadiy Avdyeyenko   Soviet Union o o o o o xo x– xx 2.38 OR
  Hollis Conway   United States xo xo o o xo o xxx 2.36
  Rudolf Povarnitsyn   Soviet Union o o o o o xo xxx 2.36
Patrik Sjöberg   Sweden o o xo xxx 2.36
5 Clarence Saunders   Bermuda o xo x– o x– xx 2.34
6 Dietmar Mögenburg   West Germany o xo xo x– xx 2.34
7 Dalton Grant   Great Britain o o xxx 2.31
Igor Paklin   Soviet Union o o o x– xx 2.31
Carlo Thränhardt   West Germany o o xx– x 2.31
10 Jim Howard   United States o o xo o xxx 2.31
11 Brian Stanton   United States o o o xo xxx 2.31
12 Krzysztof Krawczyk   Poland o o xo xxo xxx 2.31
13 Luca Toso   Italy xo o o xxx 2.25
14 Arturo Ortiz   Spain o xxo xxx 2.25
15 Robert Ruffini   Czechoslovakia o xxo xxx 2.20
16 Geoff Parsons   Great Britain o xxx 2.15

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Men's High Jump". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "High Jump, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 2, p. 242.
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