Sergey Klyugin clears 2.35m to win Sydney Olympic high jump gold

The decisive clearance

Sergey Klyugin of Russia won the Olympic men’s high jump final in Sydney on 24 September 2000. His 2.35m clearance, recorded as a season best, was the highest successful jump in the final.

Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor took silver and Algeria’s Abderrahmane Hammad bronze, both with 2.32m. Sweden’s Stefan Holm, Israel’s Konstantin Matusevich and Canada’s Mark Boswell also cleared 2.32m; Sweden’s Staffan Strand shared sixth place with Boswell. The official placing, rather than the height alone, therefore distinguishes the medals.

Klyugin’s jumping sequence

The original final sheet records Klyugin clearing 2.20m at his first attempt, passing 2.25m, clearing 2.29m at his first attempt and 2.32m at his second. He then cleared 2.35m at his first attempt.

Thirteen competitors appear in the final classification. Wolfgang Kreissig, Sergii Dymchenko and Vyacheslav Voronin recorded 2.29m, while Nathan Leeper and Kwaku Boateng finished with 2.25m. Kenny Evans recorded 2.20m.

The final in photographs

The accompanying photograph shows an unidentified competitor clearing the bar during this exact final. It is an event photograph, rather than an identified portrait of Klyugin or evidence of his winning jump.

The final results