Will Javier Sotomayor's 25-year-old high jump world record fall at Sopot?

Will Javier Sotomayor’s record fall at Sopot?

It’s been 25 years since Javier Sotomayor set the first 8-feet high jump mark, at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest. Javier Sotomayor is perhaps the greatest high jumper of all time, and this is not mere speculation but a fact which can be validated through his many superior performances. In fact, there has never been a high jumper like Sotomayor, with his flawless technique befitting to be termed as “oeuvre d’art”, or a piece of art.

Sotomayor’s unique galloping approach, with elongated strides and a powerful left-leg take off as he pumped both of his arms, was accomplished with a great degree of elegance. His technique is one that is considered impossible to reproduce, and that was no miracle, but a result of rigorous training in his formative years. That supreme technique when coalesced with his unmatched speed, flexibility and explosiveness instantly turns into a recipe for greatness.

Sotomayor was barley 15 years old when he eclipsed the 2-metre mark and, at the age of 16, he was already clearing 2.33 metres and making his mark in history by setting the new world junior record in 1984. On 8 September, 1988, he set a world record of 2.43 metres (7 feet 11 and three-quarter inches), at a meet held in Salamanca, Spain. This was four days prior to the opening ceremony of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which he unfortunately could not participate in because of Cuba’s boycott of the games.

On July 29, 1989 in the Central American and Caribbean Championships held in San Juan, Sotomayor set a new world record of 2.44 metres and thus became the first man to reach the 8-feet mark in history. And on July 27, 1993 in Salamanca, he not only improved the world record, but almost destroyed the boundaries of the human body by going beyond the 8-feet mark. His jump of 2.45 metres (8 feet and 0.5 inch) is one that inspires awe and admiration to this date, and no human being since then has come even close to replicating what he did 20 years ago.

He won the gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, and became the World Champion in Stuttgart, 1993 and Athens, 1997. After a brief period of problems, he recovered to win the silver in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Sotomayor was unable to participate in two consecutive Olympics, the 1994 Barcelona Olympics and the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which definitely would have contributed to his medal case. Nevertheless, there are some astounding facts which reinforce the truth about Sotomayor’s rare greatness.

Of the 25 best jumps in the history of this event, 17 are his. Only 12 men in history have jumped more than 2.40 metres, the second best of all time being Patrik Sjöberg who did it four times (three times in 1987 and once in August 1989), but Sotomayor did it 24 times (in 21 different competitions between September 1988 and March 1995). During his period of peak performance in 1994, he cleared the 2.40 metre mark a record ten times. He was ranked the number one high jumper in the world for a record 8 years, and was in the top 10 list for 10 years.

These facts eliminate all doubts regarding his superiority in the high jump event, and validate his legendary status and popularity in Cuba.

2012 Olympic champion, Ivan Ukhov.

There is however an imminent threat which could materialize soon. The World Indoor Championships at Sopot, Poland from the 7th to the 9th March will provide the perfect opportunity for the Russian Olympic high jump champion Ivan Ukhov to vanquish Sotomayor’s 25-year-old record of 2.44 metres. Ukhov set a new Russian national record of 2.41 metres on 16th January, 2014 in Chelyabinsk, and then on the 25th February, 2014 in Prague, his jump of 2.42 metres tied him for the second best jump of all time along with Carlo Thränhardt of Germany who cleared this same height in 1988.

The Russian seems to be brimming with confidence, and the discernible talent which he possesses might just be enough to overcome Sotomayor’s legendary record. But until, or unless, that happens, Sotomayor will continue to be the man who stands tall above everyone else.