Rules of High Jump

As one of India’s last remaining athletes in the Olympics, Sahana Kumari prepares to participate in the women’s high jump, it is time to take a look at and familiarize ourselves with the nuances of the sport to help us understand it better.

Sahana Kumari is India’s lone participant in high jump at the London Olympics.

Rules :

Athletes must jump over a 4m wide horizontal bar resting on two supports. The bar must not come off the supports during the jump.

Athletes can take off on only one foot.

The horizontal bar can be placed at any height the athlete wishes. However, three consecutive failed attempts at any paricular height or multiple heights will result in the athlete’s elimination from the event. This is applicable in both qualifying and the finals.

Once a jump is completed successfully at a particular height, the bar is raised for the next jump.

Competition format :

The competition consists of a qualifying round and the finals.

In qualifying, contestants have to achieve a qualifying mark set by the judges.

After achieving a successful jump, contestants get three more attempts to record their next jump at a higher level.

All athletes who achieve the qualifying mark go through to the finals. If fewer than 12 athletes achieve the qualifying mark, the 12 with the best scores go through.

In the finals, the contestant who achieves the highest jump is adjudged the winner.

If a tie occurs, the contestant with the fewest misses at the final height wins. If still tied, the one with the fewest misses in the round wins.

If the deadlock continues, the contestants get a final jump, and whichever contestant clears it successfully, is declared the winner.