Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's high jump

The men's high jump was an event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There were 38 competitors from 28 nations, with one non-starter (three-time medalist Patrik Sjöberg).[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Charles Austin of the United States, the nation's first victory in the men's high jump since 1968 and 13th overall. Artur Partyka of Poland became the seventh man to win two medals in the event, following his 1992 bronze with silver in these Games. Steve Smith's bronze was Great Britain's first medal in the men's high jump since 1908.

Men's high jump
at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad
Pictogram for athletics
VenuesCentennial Olympic Stadium
DatesJuly 26 (qualifications)
July 28 (final)
Competitors37 from 27 nations
Winning height2.39 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Charles Austin
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Artur Partyka
 Poland
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Steve Smith
 Great Britain
← 1992
2000 →

Background

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This was the 23rd appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1992 Games were gold medalist Javier Sotomayor of Cuba, bronze medalists Artur Partyka of Poland and Tim Forsyth of Australia, seventh-place finisher Troy Kemp of the Bahamas, eighth-place finishers Charles Austin of the United States and Dragutin Topić of Yugoslavia (an Independent Olympic Participant in 1992), and twelfth-place finisher Steve Smith of Great Britain. Sotomayor had broken his own world record in 1993, jumping 2.45 metres for a mark that is still standing as of 2023; however, he was suffering from an ankle injury in Atlanta. Austin, by contrast, had recovered from injuries that had limited him. Kemp was the reigning world champion, while Partyka had placed in the top three at worlds in both 1993 and 1995.[2]

Colombia, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Malaysia, and Ukraine each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 22nd 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 2.10 metres, 2.15 metres, 2.20 metres, 2.24 metres, 2.26 metres, and 2.29 metres. All jumpers clearing 2.29 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, 2.29 metres, 2.32 metres, 2.35 metres, 2.37 metres, 2.39 metres, and 2.41 metres; the winner also took attempts at 2.46 metres to try to break the world record.[2][3]

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics.

World record   Javier Sotomayor (CUB) 2.45 Salamanca, Spain 27 July 1993
Olympic record   Hennadiy Avdyeyenko (URS) 2.38 Seoul, South Korea 25 September 1988

Charles Austin set a new Olympic record with 2.39 metres.

Schedule

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All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)

Date Time Round
Friday, 26 July 1996 9:00 Qualifying
Sunday, 28 July 1996 18:00 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 round

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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 2.10 2.15 2.20 2.24 2.26 2.28 Height Notes
1 A Charles Austin   United States o o o 2.28 Q
B Tim Forsyth   Australia o o o o 2.28 Q
B Artur Partyka   Poland o o o 2.28 Q
B Dragutin Topić   FR Yugoslavia o o o o 2.28 Q
5 A Steinar Hoen   Norway o o o xxo o 2.28 Q
6 A Troy Kemp   Bahamas o o o xo 2.28 Q
A Jarosław Kotewicz   Poland o o o xo 2.28 Q
A Lambros Papakostas   Greece o o o xo 2.28 Q
9 A Lee Jin-taek   South Korea o xo o o xo 2.28 Q
B Javier Sotomayor   Cuba o xo xo 2.28 Q
11 A Steve Smith   Great Britain o xo xo xo 2.28 Q
B Wolfgang Kreißig   Germany o xo xo o xo 2.28 Q
13 A Tomáš Janků   Czech Republic o o o o xo xxo 2.28 Q
A Przemysław Radkiewicz   Poland o o xo o xxo 2.28 Q
15 A Charles Lefrançois   Canada o o o o xxx 2.26
16 B Viacheslav Tyrtyshnik   Ukraine o o o xo o xxx 2.26
17 B Konstantin Matusevich   Israel xo o xxo o xxx 2.26
18 B Arturo Ortíz   Spain o o xo xo xxx 2.26
19 B Dalton Grant   Great Britain o o xo xo xo xxx 2.26
20 B Ian Thompson   Bahamas o xo xxo xxx 2.26
21 B Gilmar Mayo   Colombia o xo xo xxo xxx 2.26
22 B Marko Turban   Estonia xo o o xxx 2.24
23 A Mark Mandy   Ireland o o o xxx 2.20
24 B Khemraj Naiko   Mauritius o o xo xxx 2.20
25 A Julio Luciano   Dominican Republic o xo xo xxx 2.20
26 A Cameron Wright   United States o o xxo xxx 2.20
27 A Chris Anderson   Australia o o xxx 2.15
A Tomohiro Nomura   Japan o o xxx 2.15
A Stevan Zorić   FR Yugoslavia o xxx 2.15
30 B Loo Kum Zee   Malaysia xo o xxx 2.15
31 B Ed Broxterman   United States xxo o xxx 2.15
32 A Kim Tae-hoi   South Korea xo xxo xxx 2.15
33 B Cho Hyun-wook   South Korea o xxx 2.10
34 B Fakhredin Fouad   Jordan xxo xxx 2.10
A Hugo Muñoz   Peru xxx No mark
A Wong Yew Tong   Singapore xxx No mark
B Olivier Sanou   Burkina Faso xxx No mark
B Patrik Sjöberg   Sweden DNS

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation 2.15 2.20 2.25 2.29 2.32 2.35 2.37 2.39 2.41 2.46 Height Notes
  Charles Austin   United States o o o o xx– o xxx 2.39 OR
  Artur Partyka   Poland o o o xo x– xx 2.37
  Steve Smith   Great Britain xo o xo xx– x 2.35
4 Dragutin Topić   FR Yugoslavia o o o o xx– x 2.32
5 Steinar Hoen   Norway o o xo o xx– x 2.32
6 Lambros Papakostas   Greece o o o xo xx– x 2.32
7 Tim Forsyth   Australia o o o xxo xx– x 2.32
8 Lee Jin-taek   South Korea xo o o xxx 2.29
9 Wolfgang Kreißig   Germany xo xo o xxx 2.29
10 Przemysław Radkiewicz   Poland xo xo xo xxx 2.29
11 Jarosław Kotewicz   Poland o o xxx 2.25
12 Javier Sotomayor   Cuba o xxx 2.25
13 Troy Kemp   Bahamas xo x– xx 2.25
14 Tomáš Janků   Czech Republic xo xo xo xx 2.25

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games: Men's High Jump". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "High Jump, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, p. 88.
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