Melanie Skotnik (formerly Melfort; born 8 November 1982 in

Hersbruck Hersbruck () is a small town in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land. It is best known for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the landscape of Hersbruck Switzerland. Hi ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) is a French-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 ...

er. She holds both German and French citizenship through her parentage and represented Germany until 2004. She retired in June 2016. Skotnik finished in seventh position and ninth position respectively in the finals of the 2007 World Championships and 2009 World Championships. She was eliminated in the qualification rounds of the 2005 and 2011 World Championships. At her first Olympics - the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, Skotnik fell 4 cm short of reaching the final after clearing 1.89 metres to finish joint 16th place in the qualification round. 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 ...

, she reached the final and finished in 9th place at 1.93m. Skotnik's outdoor personal best jump is 1.96m, achieved on 11 August 2007 in

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administ ...

, which tied her with the French national outdoor record first set by Maryse Éwanjé-Épée on July 21, 1985. She has won several French Athletics Championships (outdoor and indoor) titles. However, she still competes in the German national championships as a member of ''LG Domspitzmilch Regensburg'', but represents France internationally. Skotnik also holds the French national indoor record of 1.97m, achieved in Aubière on 18 February 2007 and in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

in February 2003 Skotnik married a French sprinter,

Jimmy Melfort Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

, in July 2009. She reverted to her maiden name in 2013, announcing that she was in the process of divorcing Jimmy Melfort, who had been her coach since 2005.

Results in international competitions

*Note: Only the position and height in the final are indicated, unless otherwise stated. (q) means the athlete did not qualify for the final, with the overall position and height in the qualification round indicated.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skotnik, Melanie 1982 births Living people People from Hersbruck Sportspeople from Middle Franconia German female high jumpers French female high jumpers German national athletics champions Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of France Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games silver medalists for France Athletes (track and field) at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics