Pat Matzdorf

Pat Matzdorf (Patrick Clifford Matzdorf, born 1949) is a retired American high jumper who set a world record of 2.29 meters (7 feet 6¼ inches) on 3 July 1971 in Berkeley, California, using the straddle technique.¹ His mark broke one of track and field's longest-standing records, Valeriy Brumel's 2.28 m from 1963, and stood for two years.^{2 • 3}

The 1971 world record

The record came at an international match between the United States, the Soviet Union, and a "World All-Stars" team at Edwards Stadium on the University of California campus, in front of about 22,000 spectators.^{1 • 7} Matzdorf, a 21-year-old mathematics major at the University of Wisconsin, entered the meet with a personal best of 7'3" (2.21 m) from March of that year and had not exceeded 2.18 m outdoors that season.²

The jump sequence. He cleared 2.10 m on his first attempt, 2.15 m on his first, 2.18 m on his second, 2.21 m on his first, 2.25 m on his second, and then 2.29 m on his third attempt, ten jumps in all. After one failure at 2.315 m he retired from the competition.¹ The bar had been announced as 7'6" but was later remeasured at 7'6¼" (2.29 m).² Matzdorf later recalled that he had not expected to clear it: "My first attempt was decent. On the second try, I came really close... I wasn't expecting to make it."⁸

He won the competition ahead of Reynaldo Brown at 2.21 m, with Kestutis Sapka of the Soviet Union, Valentin Gavrilov of the Soviet Union, Hidehiko Tomizawa of Japan, and Lawrie Peckham of Australia following.¹

Technique and context

Matzdorf's record is notable in the history of the event, but it was not the last improvement of the world record by a straddler before the Fosbury Flop took over, as Vladimir Yashchenko set the final men's high jump world record with the straddle technique, clearing 2.34 m in Tbilisi in 1978.¹² Dick Fosbury had won the 1968 Mexico City Olympics with his backward technique at 2.24 m, and after Fosbury's success the world record had not improved for three years until Matzdorf, a straddler, cleared 2.29 m in July 1971.⁹ Dwight Stones then became the first world record holder using the flop style, clearing 2.30 m in Munich on 11 July 1973 to add a centimeter to Matzdorf's mark.^{9 • 1}

A higher 2.29 m had been jumped earlier by China's Ni Chihchin (Ni Zhiqin) in Shanghai on 8 November 1970, but China was not then a member of the IAAF and that mark was never put forward for ratification, so it does not appear in the official record progression.¹

Career

At the University of Wisconsin, Matzdorf won the NCAA outdoor high jump title at 7-1 in 1970, placed fifth at the 1971 NCAA meet, and won the 1971 indoor national championship at 7-2.^{5 • 10} He won the Big Ten indoor high jump championship in both 1970 and 1971, set a conference record of 7-3 during the 1971 season, and received the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor in 1972.⁵ He also won the high jump at the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali and at the 1971 USA versus USSR meet in Berkeley.⁶

Later career. Injuries cut his career short in 1972.¹¹ He was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991 and into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame.⁵ In 1971 he was honored as the "World's Outstanding Athlete" and as Wisconsin's "Sports Personality of the Year".⁵

References

1. Progression of IAAF World Records 2015, IAAF
2. Athletics Weekly, Vol. 25 No. 28, 10 July 1971
3. Men's High Jump World Record progression, Athletic Stats
4. World Athletics All-Time Top Lists, Men's High Jump
5. Pat Matzdorf (1991), UW Athletic Hall of Fame
6. Wisconsin Men's Track & Field Record Book 2021-22
7. Pat Matzdorf's Surprise World Record Turns 50, Track & Field News
8. 50 Year Anniversary of Pat Matzdorf's HJ World Record, PAUSATF
9. 50 years since the day Dick Fosbury revolutionised the high jump, World Athletics
10. All-Time NCAA Men's High Jump Results, Track & Field News
11. Track and Field News, February 1973
12. 1940s to 1970s, History, Heritage, World Athletics

Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Athletics, gymnastics, and strength sports › Jumping events

Initially written Oct 20, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026

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