Jumping events

Meyer Prinstein

Meyer Prinstein, born Mejer Prinsztejn, was a Poland-born American jumper who won four Olympic gold medals in the long jump and triple jump between 1900 and 1906.

Olga Gyarmati (1924–2013), Hungarian long jumper, won the first post-war Olympic women's long jump gold at London 1948 with 5.695 m; later set a 6.23 m world record (1953) and defected after Melbourne 1956.

Pat Matzdorf

Pat Matzdorf (Patrick Clifford Matzdorf, born 1949), American high jumper from Sheboygan, Wisconsin; set a 2.29 m (7'6¼") world record with the straddle at Berkeley on 3 July 1971, breaking Valeriy Brumel's 2.28 m; record stood until Dwight Stones in 1973.

Philippe Houvion

Philippe Houvion, French pole vaulter born 1957 in Briey, held the men's pole vault world record at 5.77 m (Paris, 17 July 1980) and placed fourth at the 1980 Moscow Olympics; son and athlete of Maurice Houvion, Paris UC club.

Pole vault

Pole vault, a track and field event over a 4.50 m bar using a flexible fibreglass or carbon fibre pole; men's world record 6.31 m (Duplantis, 2026), women's 5.06 m (Isinbayeva, 2009).

Pole vault at the Olympics

Olympic pole vault: men's event since Athens 1896 (first champion William Welles Hoyt, 3.30m), women's since Sydney 2000 (Stacy Dragila). Paris 2024 winners: Armand Duplantis 6.25m WR and Nina Kennedy 4.90m.

Ralph Boston

Ralph Boston (1939–2023), American long jumper, 1960 Rome Olympic champion, silver 1964, bronze 1968; set six world records 1960–65, first to clear 27 feet, final mark 8.35 m.

Sophie Eliott Lynn

Sophia Eliott Lynn, also Sophie Eliott-Lynn and Lady Mary Heath (1896–1939), Irish-born athlete and aviator: women's high jump world record holder (1.485 m, 1923), WAAA javelin champion, Britain's first woman commercial pilot, and first woman to fly solo from South Africa to England.

Stefan Holm

Stefan Holm (Stefan Christian Holm), Swedish high jumper born 1976, 2004 Athens Olympic champion, four-time World Indoor champion (2001, 2003, 2004, 2008), personal best 2.40 m despite being about 1.80 m tall.

Tadeusz Slusarski

Tadeusz Ślusarski (1950-1998), Polish pole vaulter, Olympic gold medalist Montreal 1976 (5.50 m) and silver medalist Moscow 1980 (5.65 m), two-time European indoor champion, world indoor record holder, killed with Władysław Komar in a 1998 car crash.

Thelma Hopkins

Thelma Elizabeth Hopkins (1936–2025), Northern Irish high jumper and hockey forward; Olympic silver Melbourne 1956, European gold 1954, world high jump record 1.74 m in 1956, 40 Ireland hockey caps.

Thierry Vigneron

Thierry Vigneron, French pole vaulter born 1960, six-time world record holder (best 5.91 m in 1984), 1984 Olympic bronze medallist, 1987 world silver, three European indoor titles, 35 France caps.

Triple jump

Triple jump (hop, step and jump): track and field event with three consecutive phases into a sand pit. Men's record 18.29 m (Jonathan Edwards, 1995); women's record 15.74 m (Yulimar Rojas, 2022).

Vilma Bardauskiene

Vilma Bardauskiene (Vilhelmina Augustinavičiūtė-Bardauskienė), Lithuanian long jumper for the USSR, born 1953; first woman to jump over 7 m, world records 7.07 and 7.09 m in 1978, 1978 European champion.