The world record in the high jump, set in 1989 by Cuba's Javier Sotomayor, which has yet to be equaled, is an incredible 2.43 meters (7 ft 11.67 in).  Sotomayor's personal best is 2.45 m (8 ft 1⁄4 in), making him the only jumper to have cleared eight feet.

To give credit where due using Obama's infamous phrase, Sotomayor "didn't build that."  I am referring to the jumping method he used to set his astonishing records, which has come to be known as the Fosbury Flop after its inventor, Dick Fosbury, who developed it in high school in the early '60s.

The flop is now standard in the high jump.  Previously, jumpers went over the bar facing down, lifting legs individually scissors-style as they hurdled over, landing on their feet.  To perform a flop, jumpers go up and over facing up, arching the body over the bar and kicking legs up at the end to clear, landing on their backs.  American Dwight Stones was the first flopper to set a world record, in 1973, at 2.30 m.  Yes, it took Yankee ingenuity to bring about what is in effect a paradigm shift in an event as old as the Olympics.

The women's world record in the high jump is 2.09 m (6 ft 10 1⁄4 in), set in 1987 by Bulgaria's Stefka Kostadinova, who retired in 1999.  Her jump also has not been equaled.  The closest any woman has come to this amazing feat is 2.08 m, achieved by Croatia's Blanka Vlašić in 2009.  These heights may well be exceeded if some dude pretending to be female crashes a competition, aided and abetted by the usual suspects.  While such nonsense is tolerated in this country, I very much doubt that track and field officials at the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo will put up with it.  We'll be the laughingstock if U.S. officials decide to put the matter to a test.

If one centimeter doesn't seem like much, watch what happens when the bar is raised by that much in an international competition.  The bar is a psychological obstacle as much as a physical one, if not more so.  All jumpers are aware of existing records, which they seek to match or exceed, as well as their own personal best, which they seek to exceed.  Adding to the pressure is the fact that jumpers get three tries to clear the bar; otherwise, they are out of the competition.  The number of failed attempts is taken into account should there be a tie.

Female high jumpers are tall and incredibly fit.  Many are beautiful and could easily pass for fashion models, such as Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Yuliya Levchenko, and Kateryna Tabashnyk.  But the undisputed queen of high jump and the reigning world champion is Russia's Mariya Lesitskene, whose personal best is 2.06 m.  All female jumpers are in awe of Lesitskene. Watch her on YouTube, and you'll see what flawless technique looks like.  Dick Fosbury would be proud.

What about American female jumpers?  The last one to have won an Olympic gold medal is Louise Ritter in 1988.  Chaunté Howard won bronze in 2008, and Bridgetta Barrett won silver in 2012.  Our best hope in Tokyo is probably Vashti Cunningham, daughter of former Eagles QB Randall Cunningham.  Ms. Cunningham won gold at the 2015 Pan American Junior Championships and the 2016 World Indoor Championships, and silver at the 2018 World Indoor Championships, placing second to Lasitskene.  They are likely to face each other again in Tokyo.

Go, Vashti!

Image: Daniel.