Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's high jump
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Men's high jump at the Games of the XIX Olympiad | ||||||||||
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Venue | Estadio Olímpico Universitario | |||||||||
Dates | October 19–20 | |||||||||
Competitors | 39 from 25 nations | |||||||||
Winning height | 2.24 OR | |||||||||
Medalists | ||||||||||
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The men's high jump was one of four men's jumping events on the Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics program in Mexico City. Thirty-nine athletes from 25 nations competed.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. Dick Fosbury won by using a backward jumping style that was called the Fosbury Flop.[2] This was the unveiling of the new style on the world stage. The style completely revolutionized the sport. By the mid 1970s and ever since, virtually all of the top competitors were using the new style.
For the third straight Games, the podium in the men's high jump was monopolized by Americans and Soviets. Fosbury's gold was the United States' 12th victory in the event. His teammate Ed Caruthers took silver. Valentin Gavrilov's bronze put the Soviet Union on the podium for the fourth straight Games, second only to the United States with 16 consecutive podium appearances.