The men's high jump was an event at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. There were 38 competitors from 28 nations, with one non-starter (three-time medalist Patrik Sjöberg). 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 Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

's bronze was Great Britain's first medal in the men's high jump since 1908.

Background

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 Troy Kemp (born June 18, 1966) is a former high jumper from the Bahamas who won the gold medal at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. His personal best was 2.38m in Nice 1995. He Attended Boise State University Boise State Univer ...

of the Bahamas, eighth-place finishers Charles Austin of the United States and

Dragutin Topić Dragutin Topić ( sr-cyr, Драгутин Топић, born 12 March 1971 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Serbian former high jumper. Biography Topić is a world junior record holder with 2.37 m, which he set while winning the 1 ...

of Yugoslavia (an Independent Olympic Participant in 1992), and twelfth-place finisher

of Great Britain. Sotomayor had broken his own world record in 1993, jumping 2.45 metres for a mark that is still standing in 2021; 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. 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

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.Official Report, vol. 3, p. 88.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics. Charles Austin set a new Olympic record with 2.39 metres.

Schedule

All times are

Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small p ...

( UTC-4)

Results

Qualifying round

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

Final

References

External links

Official Report

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Men's high jump H High jump at the Olympics Men's events at the 1996 Summer Olympics