Erik Kynard Jr. (born February 3, 1991) is an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who competes in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. In his Olympic debut at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

as a 21-year-old, he won a silver medal in the men's high jump. His silver medal was upgraded to gold in 2021 with the disqualification of original champion

Ivan Ukhov Ivan Sergeyevich Ukhov (russian: Иван Сергеевич Ухов; born 29 March 1986) is a Russian high jumper. He won a gold medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships and is a two-time European Indoor champion (2009 and 2011). ...

from Russia for doping. Kynard was born in 1991, the son of Erik Kynard and Brandynn Adams. He is a 2009 graduate of Rogers High School in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, and a graduate of

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

where he trains under Cliff Rovelto. He jumps off his right leg. At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, Kynard made the Olympic team by placing second behind

Jamie Nieto Jamie Earl "James" Nieto (born November 2, 1976 in Seattle, Washington) is an American high jumper and actor. His personal best jump is 2.34 (7' 8"), achieved at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He was the 2004 and 2012 USA Olympic Trials Cha ...

with a height of 2.28 m. At the Olympics, Kynard won silver behind Russian

with a height of 2.33 m, the first major international medal of his career. Ukhov won the competition with a height of 2.38 m. Throughout the high jump competition, Kynard was noticed by his American-themed tube socks. In February 2019, it was announced that all of Ivan Ukhov's results from 16 July 2012 to 31 December 2015 were being disqualified for doping, making Eric Kynard the rightful recipient of the 2012 Gold Medal. At the start of the 2013 outdoor season, he cleared a world-leading mark of 2.34 m at the

Mt SAC Relays The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The Relays are held in mid-April each year since the first edition held on April 24-25, ...

. He won the high jump title at the United States Outdoor National Championships in 2014 and 2015: in the latter he tied his personal best, and the Meet record, of 2.37m (7' 9-1/4"). January 2022, Kynard accepted a 6 month ban and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency sanctioned while him despite him being retired for receiving an IV infusion of saline solution with no prohibited substances without a therapeutic use exemption.Erik Kynard Jr., Olympic high jump champion, sanctioned while retired

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

Major competition record

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

External links

* * * * * *
Kansas State University bio: Erik Kynard Jr.
* 1991 births Living people American male high jumpers African-American male track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Diamond League winners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Competitors at the 2011 Summer Universiade 21st-century African-American sportspeople {{US-highjump-athletics-bio-stub