Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's high jump
| Men's high jump at the Games of the XIX Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Estadio Olímpico Universitario | ||||||||||||
| Dates | October 19–20 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | men | women |
| 1500 m | men | |
| 5000 m | men | |
| 10,000 m | men | |
| 80 m hurdles | women | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| 400 m hurdles | men | |
| 3000 m steeplechase | men | |
| 4×100 m relay | men | women |
| 4×400 m relay | men | |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | |
| 20 km walk | men | |
| 50 km walk | men | |
| Field events | ||
| Long jump | men | women |
| Triple jump | men | |
| High jump | men | women |
| Pole vault | men | |
| Shot put | men | women |
| Discus throw | men | women |
| Javelin throw | men | women |
| Hammer throw | men | |
| Combined events | ||
| Pentathlon | women | |
| Decathlon | men | |
The men's high jump was one of four men's jumping events on the Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics program in Mexico City. Dick Fosbury won by using a backward jumping style that was called the Fosbury Flop.[1] This was the unveiling of the new style on the world stage. The style completely revolutionized the sport. By the mid 1970s and ever since, virtually all of the top competitors were using the new style.
At 2.18 metres, high school 'phenomena', Reynaldo Brown and Valery Skvortsov topped out leaving the three medalists Valentin Gavrilov, Ed. Caruthers and Richard Fosbury. The medalists were all clean at 2.20 metres. Fosbury took the lead by remaining clean at 2.22 metres, Caruthers needing a second attempt. Garilov couldn't make it. Richard Fosbury established his win by jumping over 2.24 metres on his last attempt, while Caruthers brushed his last attempt off.
Medalists
| Gold |  United States (USA) |
| Silver | United States (USA) |
| Bronze |  USSR (USSR) |
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record | | 2.28 m | Moscow, Soviet Union | 21 July 1963 |
| Olympic record | | 2.18 m | Tokyo, Japan | 21 October 1964 |
Results
Qualifying
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Final
Held on October 20, 1968
Each jumper again had three attempts at each height, with the bar starting at 2.00 metres. Three jumpers were unable to perform as well as they had in the qualification.
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Best mark | 2.00 | 2.03 | 2.06 | 2.09 | 2.12 | 2.14 | 2.16 | 2.18 | 2.20 | 2.22 | 2.24 | 2.29 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dick Fosbury | | 2.24 metres OR | - | O | - | O | - | O | - | O | O | O | XXO | XXX | |
| 2 | Ed Caruthers | | 2.22 metres | - | - | - | O | - | XXO | - | XXO | O | XO | XXX | ||
| 3 | Valentin Gavrilov | .svg.png){kind=small} | 2.20 metres | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | - | O | XXX | |||
| 4 | Valery Skvortsov | | 2.16 metres | - | O | XO | O | XXO | O | XXO | XXX | |||||
| 5 | Reynaldo Brown | | 2.14 metres | - | O | - | O | - | O | - | XXX | |||||
| 6 | Giacomo Crosa |  | 2.14 metres | O | - | XO | O | O | O | XXX | ||||||
| 7 | Gunther Spielvogel | .svg.png){kind=small} | 2.14 metres | - | - | O | O | XXO | XO | XXX | ||||||
| 8 | Lawrie Peckham |  | 2.12 metres | - | O | O | O | XO | XXX | |||||||
| 9 | Robert Sainte-Rose |  | 2.09 metres | O | - | O | O | XXX | ||||||||
| Ingomar Sieghart | | 2.09 metres | - | O | O | O | XXX | |||||||||
| 11 | Luis María Garriga | .svg.png){kind=small} | 2.09 metres | O | O | O | XXO | XXX | ||||||||
| 12 | Ahmed Senoussi |  | 2.09 metres | - | - | XO | XXO | XXX | ||||||||
| 13 | Miodrag Todosijević | .svg.png){kind=small} | 2.06 metres | O | - | O | XXX | |||||||||
References
- ↑ "Athletics at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's High Jump". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 29 December 2017.