Men High Jump Athletics XXII Olympic Games Moskva, Soviet Union 1980 - Friday, 1st August - Gold Medal: Gerd Wessig, East Germany
Final
Height
SO
210
215
218
221
224
227
229
231
233
236
238
1. Gerd Wessig
GDR
2.36m
WR
3.
O
O
O
O
X0
O
XO
XO
XXX
2. Jacek Wszola
POL
2.31m
4.
O
XO
XO
O
O
XO
XXX
3. Jorg Freimuth
GDR
2.31m
2.
O
O
O
O
XXO
O
XO
XXX
4. Henry Lauterbach
GDR
2.29m
8.
O
XXO
XO
O
O
XXX
5. Roland Dalhauser
SUI
2.24m
9.
O
O
XO
XXX
6. Vaso Komnenic
YUG
2.24m
11.
O
O
O
XXO
XXX
7. Adrian Proteaso
ROM
2.21m
7.
O
O
O
XXX
8. Aleksandr Grigoriev
URS
2.21m
1.
O
O
O
O
XXX
9. Mark Naylor
GBR
2.21m
O
XO
O
XXX
10.Gennadi Belkov
URS
2.21m
O
O
XO
O
XXX
11.Aleksei Demianiuk
URS
2.21m
O
O
XO
XXO
XXX
12.Janusz Trzepizur
POL
2.18m
O
O
XXX
13.Sorin Matei
ROM
2.18m
O
O
O
XXX
14.Guy Moreau
BEL
2.18m
O
O
XO
XXX
15.Marco Tamberi
ITA
2.15m
O
O
XXX
16.Roberto Cabrejas
ESP
2.10
O
XXX
Competitors: 30; Countries: 19
The world record had moved up to 2.35, with Wszoła and the FRG’s
Dietmar Mögenburg – absent because of the boycott – the co-record
holders. Wszoła was favourite, especially as the best Soviet jumper,
Vladimir Yashchenko, the previous world record holder and a straddler,
was injured in 1980. Six men made 2.24, the shock being that none of
the Soviets managed to do so. Just four men made the Olympic record
height of 2.27, the three GDR jumpers and Wszoła.
At 2.29 only Wessig failed first time, but made it on his second
attempt, and then was the only man to clear 2.31 first time, 8cm above
on his best prior to 1980 and a personal best. Wszoła and Freimuth
made it second time, but Lauterbach, a fast running straddler, missed.
Wessig cleared 2.33 cleanly to earn the gold. After Freimuth had failed
to improve his personal best for a second time, and Wszoła had finally
bowed out after two close attempts at 2.33, the baker from Schwerin
put the icing on the cake with a second time clearance at 2.36. He
grazed the bar lightly with his shorts and bounced gently off the landing
area on to the ground head first. It was the first high jump world
record in Olympic history.
GDR
POL
SUI
YUG
ROM
URS
GBR
BEL
ITA
ESP
FRA
HUN
ALG
BUL
JAM
CUB
SEN
SYR
BRA