Ivan Ukhov
Encyclopedia
Ivan Sergeyevich Ukhov is a Russian
high jump
er. He won gold medal
s at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
and the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships. He was also the silver medallist at the 2010 European Athletics Championships and the winner of the high jump at the inaugural 2010 IAAF Diamond League
. He has twice broken the Russian national record indoors: jumping 2.39 meters on 28 January 2007 in Moscow, and besting that with a 2.40m jump on 25 February 2009 in Athens. His best outdoor effort, 2.36m, was set in Opole, Poland on 11 September 2010. His personal best of 2.40m (7 feet 10 1/2 inches) made him the 11th man in history to jump 2.40 or better, and only four of those men have jumped higher (indoors and out); only three men have jumped higher indoors (Patrik Sjöberg
, 2.41 in 1987; Carlo Thränhardt
, 2.42 in 1988, and Javier Sotomayor
, 2.43 in 1993).
, then at the age of 17 I tried the high jump. After training for about a year I set the Russian junior record and decided that it would be easier to carry on jumping than discus," he said. After learning to jump, he established a personal best of 2.15m on 28 June 2004, and the following year he improved to 2.30 (on 4 July 2005) at a meet in Tula, Russia. He represented Russia at the 2004 IAAF World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy, but failed to qualify amongst the top 12 jumpers on 13 July, and did not make the finals.
He won the gold medal at the 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships
(age 19 and under), held in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas on 21–24 July 2005. He was the only competitor to clear 2.23m, and said afterwards, "I feel a bit confused. I still can not believe that I am a winner."
Ukhov's 2011 indoor season included three meets where he won and then attempted to set a world indoor record of 8 feet (2.44m). It has not been reported whether he made the switch to a jumping shoe during the off-season, or, whether he continues to use sprint spikes in 2011.
In an interview for BBC News filmed in Moscow in early spring 2011, Ukhov admitted his difficulty of jumping in wet conditions without heel spikes and acknowledged this could be a liability at the 2012 Olympics in London.
in Trinec, he won the competition with a first attempt clearance of 2.28, and was the only competitor who was really close at 2.30. He achieved a personal best outdoor jump of 2.33 meters, in Langen, Germany (on 25 June 2006), and was named to the Russian team for the 19th European Athletics Championships held in Goteborg, Sweden in early August. He qualified for the 12-man Finals with a jump of 2.23, but two days later, 9 August 2006, he could manage no better than 2.20 for equal last place.
in February 2005. Ukhov was pushed to the record in a tactical duel with (reigning World Indoor champion) Rybakov. After each cleared 2.31, Rybakov took the lead with a first try clearance at 2.35. Ukhov failed in his first attempt and, with second-place already assured, he elected to pass. With the bar raised to 2.37, Ukhov flew over the bar on his first attempt, while Rybakov failed and decided to use his two remaining jumps at 2.39, one centimetre higher than his record of 2.38. Rybakov did not succeed, but Ukhov once again thrilled the Moscow crowd with a first-try clearance, and then failed at 2.41. The 2.39 effort ranked him tied for sixth place among the top indoor high jumpers of all time. One week later, at the Arnstadt, Germany meet on 3 February 2007, Rybakov would win, tying his personal best of 2.38, while Ukhov finished fourth at 2.31.
meetings, because of his intoxicated actions during the Athletissima competition in Lausanne
held on Tuesday 2 September. There, he was found to have drunk Red Bull
and vodka
prior to the competition, was unable to make a valid jump. The IAAF issued a strong warning to Ukhov in respect of his conduct: the IAAF did not suspend him, but he did not compete afterwards.
He returned to competition in spectacular fashion at the annual Moravia High Jump Tour
in late January 2009. Ukhov won both Tour events and outjumped all of his competitors, first jumping 2.33 on 21 January at Trinec, then bettered that with a 2.34 clearance at Hustopece on 24 January. At the Athens indoor meeting on 25 February 2009, Ukhov cleared 2.40 m, setting a new national record and the world's best season mark. The 2.40 mark (7 ft 10 1/2in) also made him the equal-fifth highest jumper in the history of the sport. He also improved his outdoor best on 25 July 2009 at the Russian National Championships in Cheboksary
when he cleared 2.35 to win the event beating Yaroslav Rybakov
, who cleared the same height. At the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin Ukhov jumped 2.30m in qualifying, but when a torrential downpour wrecked havoc with the High Jump Final, Ukhov could manage only 2.23 and finished in 10th place: Rybakov won gold with a first-attempt clearance at 2.32m. Ukhov won five summer meets with jumps of 2.34-2.35, and defeated Rybakov three times before losing in the rain in Berlin.
At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
in March he claimed his first world title with a jump of 2.36 m, beating national rival Yaroslav Rybakov
in the process. One of the finest high jump competitions of the year was at Lausanne, Switzerland on 8 July 2010, when 11 men were still in competition at 2.30m. Only four cleared it, with Ukhov going to defeat Rybakov - on misses - at 2.33, with a superb first attempt clearance at 2.33. Ukhov won again at Monaco, on 22 July, with a world-leading 2.34m. At Monaco, four jumpers attempted 2.31, but only Ukhov made it (on his first attempt), and then 2.34 on his first effort, before failing three times at 2.36.
One week later he competed at the 2010 European Athletics Championships, in Barcelona, Spain. The Mens Final was held 29 July, and this time he ended up behind a fellow Russian, as Aleksander Shustov took gold at 2.33 and Ukhov was the silver medal
list – his first European outdoor medal - with a jump of 2.31m.
At London, on 14 August 2010, in conditions described as "wet and chilly", Ukhov won again, out-jumping his competitors with a second-effort clearance at 2.29m, as second- and third-place tied at 2.27m. Ukhov again outjumped the field at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich on 19 August, with another first-try clearance at 2.29, then trying 2.35 without success. The win in Zurich ensured that he finished the top of the rankings in the High Jump series at the inaugural 2010 IAAF Diamond League
.
Ukhov entered a total of 20 competitions in 2010 - indoors and out - and won 14 of them. UHe jumped an outdoor best of 2.36 m at the 5th annual Opole jumping festival in Opole
, Poland
on 11 September, a mark which was the best by any athlete in 2010
. Ukhov's jump was all the more remarkable given that second place was 2.26, while he went on to clear 2.30 and 2.33 on his first jumps, then made 2.36 on his third, followed by three misses at 2.41.
in 29 January saw him start the 2011 indoor season in strong form, opening - as he usually does - at 2.20 and progressing to eventually clear 2.38 m (7 ft 9 1/2 in) on his second try, and then came close in an attempt to break Javier Sotomayor
's world indoor mark of 2.43. With Sotomayor standing behind him watching, Ukhov first two attempts at 2.44 (8 ft) were excellent, accelerating through his 11-step approach and getting his hips over cleanly before the back of his thighs brushed the bar on the way down, barely bouncing the bar off. On 3 February, he won the Moscow High Jump with Music Cup for the fourth time in his career, with a jump of 2.30, outjumping four other Russian competitors who could manage no higher than 2.27. He repeated his 2.38 performance on 9 February at the Europa SC High Jump Meeting in Banska Bystrica
, Slovakia. He cleared every height on his first attempt through 2.38, then again had the bar set at 2.44 (8 feet). Ukhov's attempts at the would-be world (indoor) record height were said to be even closer than his previous efforts two weeks earlier in Hustopece. Uhkov skipped the 2011 Russian Indoor Championships (held in Moscow on 16–18 February), in order to compete in the special Hochsprung mit Musik
competition in Arnstadt, Germany, on 19 February, which he won with a jump of 2.34 (three cm better than second-place).
At the European Indoor Championships
in Paris, Ukhov held off Czech Jaroslav Bába
to win the gold medal on Saturday 5 March 2011, equalling his season-best, and world-leading, jump of 2.38 metres (7.81 ft). The 24-year old was tied with Baba at 2.34 after each cleared on their first attempt, while fellow Russian Aleksandr Shustov secured the bronze medal with his third attempt clearance at 2.34. Ukhov then cleared 2.36 on his first jump and Baba, after missing, passed to 2.38. Once again Ukhov delivered a first jump clearance, while Baba missed and decided to make his third attempt at 2.40 m (7 feet 10 1/2 inches). Baba missed and Ukhov, having secured the victory with eight jumps, passed at 2.40 (the meet record) and instead had the bar raised to a new European - and world indoor - record 2.44 (8 feet). But he failed on all three attempts.
The fourth "Diamond League" competition of the year, the Prefontaine Classic
in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday 4 June brought together an elite 8-man field of the world's best jumpers. Ukhov was "off", able to clear only 2.29 for sixth place - his first loss of the year - while three men cleared 2.32: (current world-leader) Jesse Williams
(USA), (reigning Olympic champion) Andrey Silnov
(Russia), and the winner Raúl Spank
(Germany).
.) And only three men have done so since the turn of the 21st century: Russian Vyacheslav Voronin
scaled 2.41m outdoors in August 2000; Swede Stefan Holm
jumped 2.40 indoors in March 2005; and Ukhov's 2.40 mark indoors in February 2009.
Ukhov turns 25 at the end of March 2011, an age considered to be near the end of "prime" jumping years. The last three men to set the World Record in the High Jump all accomplished the feat when they were 21–22 years old:
Russian jumper Vyacheslav Voronin
was 26 when he jumped 2.40 in London in August 2000, and is the last man to jump 2.40 outdoors. Ukhov has been fortunate to avoid serious injury, but, nonetheless, he does appear to be a Mr. January, with his best marks so often produced at the start of a season.
According to the official website of Russian Athletics, as of early 2011, Ivan lives in Moscow and is trained by Sergey Klugin (the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games high jump champion.) In an interview published at the end of the 2010 outdoor season, Ukhov said he began jumping under the tutledge of Yevgeni Zagorulko, but "I could not win a major title", so two years ago (2008) he changed coaches to Klyugin: "Sergey had just finished competing himself and was coaching his wife Viktoriya (the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships high jump bronze medallist). He approached me and invited me to train with him and I said, "Let's give it a try.""
In a 2010 interview, Ukhov was asked about reports that his weight fluctuated. Q: Is it true that two days before an event you stop eating? Ukhov answered: "No, I am responsible about these things, my weight when I am competing is about 85 kg (185 lbs.), but in the off-season my weigh can go up to 105 kg (231 lbs). I lose the kilos quickly when I am doing weight training. It only takes about two weeks to lose the weight." Q: Many athletes complain that they feel weak when they lose only a few kilos, but here we are talking about 20kg (44 lbs). What does your coach think about this? Ukhov answered: "We had a training camp in Spain, and I think the extra weight helped. A bit of extra weight protects the muscles and ligaments. It is like training with a barbell - only it always with you." Although he stands well over 6 feet tall, Ukhov described his physique as "stocky".
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
er. He won gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
s at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the ASPIRE Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010.-Bidding and organisation:...
and the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships. He was also the silver medallist at the 2010 European Athletics Championships and the winner of the high jump at the inaugural 2010 IAAF Diamond League
2010 IAAF Diamond League
The 2010 IAAF Diamond League was the first edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 14 May in Doha, Qatar and ended on 27 August in Brussels, Belgium....
. He has twice broken the Russian national record indoors: jumping 2.39 meters on 28 January 2007 in Moscow, and besting that with a 2.40m jump on 25 February 2009 in Athens. His best outdoor effort, 2.36m, was set in Opole, Poland on 11 September 2010. His personal best of 2.40m (7 feet 10 1/2 inches) made him the 11th man in history to jump 2.40 or better, and only four of those men have jumped higher (indoors and out); only three men have jumped higher indoors (Patrik Sjöberg
Patrik Sjöberg
Jan Niklas Patrik Sjöberg is a former Swedish high jumper and previous world record holder. With , he holds the Swedish as well as the European record in men's high jump...
, 2.41 in 1987; Carlo Thränhardt
Carlo Thränhardt
Carlo Thränhardt is a former German high jumper, who won the silver medal at the 1981 European Indoor Championships in Grenoble. He excelled at indoor competitions, setting the world indoor record on three occasions between 1984-88...
, 2.42 in 1988, and Javier Sotomayor
Javier Sotomayor
Javier Sotomayor Sanabria is a Cuban former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump and is the current world record holder. The 1992 Olympic champion, he was the dominant high jumper of the 1990s; he is the only person ever to have cleared 8 feet . He is widely regarded as the...
, 2.43 in 1993).
Early career
In a July 2010 interview for BBC News, Ukhov - whom friends call Vanya - said his love of sports began at age 7 when his mother enrolled him in basketball: "After nine years of playing it I quarrelled with my coach and decided to take up a different sport. I was quite big and chose discusDiscus throw
The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...
, then at the age of 17 I tried the high jump. After training for about a year I set the Russian junior record and decided that it would be easier to carry on jumping than discus," he said. After learning to jump, he established a personal best of 2.15m on 28 June 2004, and the following year he improved to 2.30 (on 4 July 2005) at a meet in Tula, Russia. He represented Russia at the 2004 IAAF World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy, but failed to qualify amongst the top 12 jumpers on 13 July, and did not make the finals.
He won the gold medal at the 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships
European Athletics Junior Championships
The European Athletics Junior Championships are the European championships open for those of age. The IAAF defines Junior as athletes who are 19 years of age or under. It is currently organized by the European Athletic Association....
(age 19 and under), held in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas on 21–24 July 2005. He was the only competitor to clear 2.23m, and said afterwards, "I feel a bit confused. I still can not believe that I am a winner."
Competes Without A Jumping Shoe
In order to gain firm traction as they "plant" their take-off foot to jump, high jumpers are permitted to use a special shoe, one with a built-up sole - for comfort and stability - and which contains six or seven spikes in the front and no more than four spikes in the heel. Ukhov is unique in that he uses ordinary sprint spikes when he competes, which lack the added traction in the heel. In a 2010 interview for the Russian sports daily Sovietskiy Sport, he was asked about the lack of heel spikes and said, "Yes, that's true. Before every season I think it's time to move on and use high jumping shoes but I still haven't switched to them. Somehow they do not work for me." Failure to use a "normal" jumping shoe does makes it difficult to jump in wet conditions. When it rained during the Mens High Jump final at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, he finished in tenth place, saying, "When the rain started, I started experimenting with new spikes but in vain." A year later, at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, heavy rains came just before the Mens High Jump final, but Ukhov said he "started with my sprint spikes and kept them on." He finished in second place.Ukhov's 2011 indoor season included three meets where he won and then attempted to set a world indoor record of 8 feet (2.44m). It has not been reported whether he made the switch to a jumping shoe during the off-season, or, whether he continues to use sprint spikes in 2011.
In an interview for BBC News filmed in Moscow in early spring 2011, Ukhov admitted his difficulty of jumping in wet conditions without heel spikes and acknowledged this could be a liability at the 2012 Olympics in London.
2006
Ukhov's performances in 2006 confirmed that he was better indoors than outside. On Monday 16 January 2006, jumping in the first leg of the Moravia High Jump TourMoravia High Jump Tour
The Moravia High Jump Tour is an elite-level, invitation-only, indoor Athletics competition for the world's best high jumpers, both men and women. It is a high jump-only competition, held in the eastern Czech region of Moravia. Although the competition is held in small basketball gynasiums, without...
in Trinec, he won the competition with a first attempt clearance of 2.28, and was the only competitor who was really close at 2.30. He achieved a personal best outdoor jump of 2.33 meters, in Langen, Germany (on 25 June 2006), and was named to the Russian team for the 19th European Athletics Championships held in Goteborg, Sweden in early August. He qualified for the 12-man Finals with a jump of 2.23, but two days later, 9 August 2006, he could manage no better than 2.20 for equal last place.
2007
The 20-year old Ukhov won all three of the meets he entered in January 2007, with heights of 2.30 or better. At the annual Russian Winter Cup meet in Moscow, held on 28 January 2007 at the Vladimir Kutz Arena, the 20-year old Ukhov elevated his personal best by 6 cm, jumping 2.39 to set a new Russian national record in the High Jump. Ukhov broke the record of 2.38, set in Sweden by Yaroslav RybakovYaroslav Rybakov
Yaroslav Vladimirovich Rybakov is a Russian high jumper.He is the 2002 European Champion high jumper, and at the 2005 World Championships he shared the silver medal with Victor Moya of Cuba....
in February 2005. Ukhov was pushed to the record in a tactical duel with (reigning World Indoor champion) Rybakov. After each cleared 2.31, Rybakov took the lead with a first try clearance at 2.35. Ukhov failed in his first attempt and, with second-place already assured, he elected to pass. With the bar raised to 2.37, Ukhov flew over the bar on his first attempt, while Rybakov failed and decided to use his two remaining jumps at 2.39, one centimetre higher than his record of 2.38. Rybakov did not succeed, but Ukhov once again thrilled the Moscow crowd with a first-try clearance, and then failed at 2.41. The 2.39 effort ranked him tied for sixth place among the top indoor high jumpers of all time. One week later, at the Arnstadt, Germany meet on 3 February 2007, Rybakov would win, tying his personal best of 2.38, while Ukhov finished fourth at 2.31.
2008-2009
In September 2008, Ukhov was not invited to the Grand Prix IAAFInternational Association of Athletics Federations
The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. It was founded in 1912 at its first congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation...
meetings, because of his intoxicated actions during the Athletissima competition in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
held on Tuesday 2 September. There, he was found to have drunk Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
and vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
prior to the competition, was unable to make a valid jump. The IAAF issued a strong warning to Ukhov in respect of his conduct: the IAAF did not suspend him, but he did not compete afterwards.
He returned to competition in spectacular fashion at the annual Moravia High Jump Tour
Moravia High Jump Tour
The Moravia High Jump Tour is an elite-level, invitation-only, indoor Athletics competition for the world's best high jumpers, both men and women. It is a high jump-only competition, held in the eastern Czech region of Moravia. Although the competition is held in small basketball gynasiums, without...
in late January 2009. Ukhov won both Tour events and outjumped all of his competitors, first jumping 2.33 on 21 January at Trinec, then bettered that with a 2.34 clearance at Hustopece on 24 January. At the Athens indoor meeting on 25 February 2009, Ukhov cleared 2.40 m, setting a new national record and the world's best season mark. The 2.40 mark (7 ft 10 1/2in) also made him the equal-fifth highest jumper in the history of the sport. He also improved his outdoor best on 25 July 2009 at the Russian National Championships in Cheboksary
Cheboksary
-Twin towns/sister cities:Cheboksary is twinned with: Eger in Hungary Antalya in Turkey Santa Clara in CubaAlso Partnerships are shown with: Rundu in Namibia -External links:****...
when he cleared 2.35 to win the event beating Yaroslav Rybakov
Yaroslav Rybakov
Yaroslav Vladimirovich Rybakov is a Russian high jumper.He is the 2002 European Champion high jumper, and at the 2005 World Championships he shared the silver medal with Victor Moya of Cuba....
, who cleared the same height. At the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin Ukhov jumped 2.30m in qualifying, but when a torrential downpour wrecked havoc with the High Jump Final, Ukhov could manage only 2.23 and finished in 10th place: Rybakov won gold with a first-attempt clearance at 2.32m. Ukhov won five summer meets with jumps of 2.34-2.35, and defeated Rybakov three times before losing in the rain in Berlin.
2010
Ukhov began his 2010 indoor season at the 6th Moravia High Jump Tour, winning both competitions: first at the meeting in Hustopece, Czech Republic on 23 January, he set a meet record of 2.37 metres (7.78 ft) (which would be the best jump in the world indoors or out in 2010); then he won the second leg on 27 January in Triniste with a leap of 2.34 m.At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the ASPIRE Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010.-Bidding and organisation:...
in March he claimed his first world title with a jump of 2.36 m, beating national rival Yaroslav Rybakov
Yaroslav Rybakov
Yaroslav Vladimirovich Rybakov is a Russian high jumper.He is the 2002 European Champion high jumper, and at the 2005 World Championships he shared the silver medal with Victor Moya of Cuba....
in the process. One of the finest high jump competitions of the year was at Lausanne, Switzerland on 8 July 2010, when 11 men were still in competition at 2.30m. Only four cleared it, with Ukhov going to defeat Rybakov - on misses - at 2.33, with a superb first attempt clearance at 2.33. Ukhov won again at Monaco, on 22 July, with a world-leading 2.34m. At Monaco, four jumpers attempted 2.31, but only Ukhov made it (on his first attempt), and then 2.34 on his first effort, before failing three times at 2.36.
One week later he competed at the 2010 European Athletics Championships, in Barcelona, Spain. The Mens Final was held 29 July, and this time he ended up behind a fellow Russian, as Aleksander Shustov took gold at 2.33 and Ukhov was the silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
list – his first European outdoor medal - with a jump of 2.31m.
At London, on 14 August 2010, in conditions described as "wet and chilly", Ukhov won again, out-jumping his competitors with a second-effort clearance at 2.29m, as second- and third-place tied at 2.27m. Ukhov again outjumped the field at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich on 19 August, with another first-try clearance at 2.29, then trying 2.35 without success. The win in Zurich ensured that he finished the top of the rankings in the High Jump series at the inaugural 2010 IAAF Diamond League
2010 IAAF Diamond League
The 2010 IAAF Diamond League was the first edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 14 May in Doha, Qatar and ended on 27 August in Brussels, Belgium....
.
Ukhov entered a total of 20 competitions in 2010 - indoors and out - and won 14 of them. UHe jumped an outdoor best of 2.36 m at the 5th annual Opole jumping festival in Opole
Opole
Opole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
on 11 September, a mark which was the best by any athlete in 2010
2010 in athletics (track and field)
In 2010 there was no obvious, primary athletics championship, as neither the Summer Olympics nor the World Championships in Athletics occurred in the year...
. Ukhov's jump was all the more remarkable given that second place was 2.26, while he went on to clear 2.30 and 2.33 on his first jumps, then made 2.36 on his third, followed by three misses at 2.41.
2011
The Moravia High Jump TourMoravia High Jump Tour
The Moravia High Jump Tour is an elite-level, invitation-only, indoor Athletics competition for the world's best high jumpers, both men and women. It is a high jump-only competition, held in the eastern Czech region of Moravia. Although the competition is held in small basketball gynasiums, without...
in 29 January saw him start the 2011 indoor season in strong form, opening - as he usually does - at 2.20 and progressing to eventually clear 2.38 m (7 ft 9 1/2 in) on his second try, and then came close in an attempt to break Javier Sotomayor
Javier Sotomayor
Javier Sotomayor Sanabria is a Cuban former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump and is the current world record holder. The 1992 Olympic champion, he was the dominant high jumper of the 1990s; he is the only person ever to have cleared 8 feet . He is widely regarded as the...
's world indoor mark of 2.43. With Sotomayor standing behind him watching, Ukhov first two attempts at 2.44 (8 ft) were excellent, accelerating through his 11-step approach and getting his hips over cleanly before the back of his thighs brushed the bar on the way down, barely bouncing the bar off. On 3 February, he won the Moscow High Jump with Music Cup for the fourth time in his career, with a jump of 2.30, outjumping four other Russian competitors who could manage no higher than 2.27. He repeated his 2.38 performance on 9 February at the Europa SC High Jump Meeting in Banska Bystrica
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 81,281 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia...
, Slovakia. He cleared every height on his first attempt through 2.38, then again had the bar set at 2.44 (8 feet). Ukhov's attempts at the would-be world (indoor) record height were said to be even closer than his previous efforts two weeks earlier in Hustopece. Uhkov skipped the 2011 Russian Indoor Championships (held in Moscow on 16–18 February), in order to compete in the special Hochsprung mit Musik
Hochsprung mit Musik
The Hochsprung mit Musik is an annual indoor high jump meeting which takes place in February in Arnstadt, Germany. First held in 1977, the meeting began as a competition between mainly East German athletes...
competition in Arnstadt, Germany, on 19 February, which he won with a jump of 2.34 (three cm better than second-place).
At the European Indoor Championships
2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 31st European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from 4 to 6 March 2011.A record high of 630 athletes, representing 46 countries, were entered into the three-day competition. Twenty-six track and field events were contested at the...
in Paris, Ukhov held off Czech Jaroslav Bába
Jaroslav Bába
Jaroslav Bába is a Czech high jumper.At the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships he jumped 2.25 metres and won a joint bronze medal along with Germaine Mason and Ştefan Vasilache...
to win the gold medal on Saturday 5 March 2011, equalling his season-best, and world-leading, jump of 2.38 metres (7.81 ft). The 24-year old was tied with Baba at 2.34 after each cleared on their first attempt, while fellow Russian Aleksandr Shustov secured the bronze medal with his third attempt clearance at 2.34. Ukhov then cleared 2.36 on his first jump and Baba, after missing, passed to 2.38. Once again Ukhov delivered a first jump clearance, while Baba missed and decided to make his third attempt at 2.40 m (7 feet 10 1/2 inches). Baba missed and Ukhov, having secured the victory with eight jumps, passed at 2.40 (the meet record) and instead had the bar raised to a new European - and world indoor - record 2.44 (8 feet). But he failed on all three attempts.
2011 Outdoor Season
Uhkov opened his international outdoor competition in the Czech Republic at the 50th Ostrava IWC "Golden Spike" meet on 31 May, which he won (on a tie-breaker) with a height of 2.32 (7' 7 1/4"). He was tied with German Raul Spank after each opened at 2.15 and then jumped "clean" with no misses through 2.32, breaking the meet record of 2.31. After both missed all three tries at 2.36 the tie-breaker was implemented: each was given a fourth attempt at 2.36, then the bar was lowered to 2.34 and then returned to 2.32, which only Ukhov was able to clear a second time for the win.The fourth "Diamond League" competition of the year, the Prefontaine Classic
Prefontaine Classic
The Prefontaine Classic is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.-History:...
in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday 4 June brought together an elite 8-man field of the world's best jumpers. Ukhov was "off", able to clear only 2.29 for sixth place - his first loss of the year - while three men cleared 2.32: (current world-leader) Jesse Williams
Jesse Williams (athlete)
Jesse Daniel Williams is an American high jumper and the current World Champion. He was ranked the #2 jumper in the world, outdoors, in 2010...
(USA), (reigning Olympic champion) Andrey Silnov
Andrey Silnov
Andrey Alexandrovich Silnov is a Russian high jumper and the 2008 Olympic champion. Born in Shakhty, Rostov Oblast, he is 1.98 m and weighs 83 kg ....
(Russia), and the winner Raúl Spank
Raúl Spank
Raúl Roland Spank is a German athlete from Dresden who specialises in the high jump.He competed on the world stage for the first time at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics in Marrakesh. He finished in seventh in the final, jumping a personal best of 2.11 metres...
(Germany).
Ages for the World Record
All international High Jump competitions are contested at metric heights - with the bar raised in increments of centimetres - and 2.40 meters (7 ft 10 1/2in) is a stratospheric height achieved by only eleven men in history. (See: Table listing "Top Performers" in entry for High JumpHigh jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
.) And only three men have done so since the turn of the 21st century: Russian Vyacheslav Voronin
Vyacheslav Voronin
Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Voronin is a Russian athlete, who specializes in the high jump.Voronin is a World Champion and European Indoor Champion . His personal best is 2.40 metres, set in London in August 2000. He competed in Athens 2004 and Helsinki 2005, but did not win medals in either...
scaled 2.41m outdoors in August 2000; Swede Stefan Holm
Stefan Holm
Stefan Christian Holm is a retired Swedish high jumper. He has won an Olympic gold medal, a silver in the World Championships, and one silver and one bronze medal in the European Championships...
jumped 2.40 indoors in March 2005; and Ukhov's 2.40 mark indoors in February 2009.
Ukhov turns 25 at the end of March 2011, an age considered to be near the end of "prime" jumping years. The last three men to set the World Record in the High Jump all accomplished the feat when they were 21–22 years old:
- Igor PaklinIgor PaklinIgor Paklin is a retired athlete who represented USSR and later Kyrgyzstan. He trained at Armed Forces sports society in Frunze.Competing in the high jump, he won the 1987 World Indoor Championships as well as a silver medal at the 1987 World Championships for the USSR...
(Russia) was 22 when he jumped 2.41 in Japan on 4 September 1985
- Patrik SjöbergPatrik SjöbergJan Niklas Patrik Sjöberg is a former Swedish high jumper and previous world record holder. With , he holds the Swedish as well as the European record in men's high jump...
(Sweden) was 22 when he jumped 2.42 in Stockholm on 30 June 1987 (two years later he underwent surgery on his Achilles tendon in 1989 and his career went downhill)
- Javier SotomayorJavier SotomayorJavier Sotomayor Sanabria is a Cuban former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump and is the current world record holder. The 1992 Olympic champion, he was the dominant high jumper of the 1990s; he is the only person ever to have cleared 8 feet . He is widely regarded as the...
(Cuba) was a month shy of his 21st birthday when he first jumped 2.43 in Spain in September 1988. He was still 21 when he jumped 2.43 indoors in Hungary in March 1989, and 2.44 outdoors in Puerto Rico in July 1989. The following year, 1990, he underwent surgery on his knee and heel, but returned to jump 2.45 outdoors in July 1993, at the age of 25.
Russian jumper Vyacheslav Voronin
Vyacheslav Voronin
Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Voronin is a Russian athlete, who specializes in the high jump.Voronin is a World Champion and European Indoor Champion . His personal best is 2.40 metres, set in London in August 2000. He competed in Athens 2004 and Helsinki 2005, but did not win medals in either...
was 26 when he jumped 2.40 in London in August 2000, and is the last man to jump 2.40 outdoors. Ukhov has been fortunate to avoid serious injury, but, nonetheless, he does appear to be a Mr. January, with his best marks so often produced at the start of a season.
Personal life
Ukhov is 1.93 m tall (6 ft 4in) and lists his competition weight as 84 kg (185 lb.). He jumps off his left leg. At a press conference in Russia at the start of the 2011 indoor season, Ukhov said that the birth of his child had stabilized his life: "Having a family helps. If it weren't for my family, I would not be able to compete so consistently and successfully," he said. In an undated interview for BBC News filmed in Moscow - probably in early spring 2011 - Ukhov was shown walking in a snow-covered park with his wife, Polina, and baby daughter Melaniya.According to the official website of Russian Athletics, as of early 2011, Ivan lives in Moscow and is trained by Sergey Klugin (the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games high jump champion.) In an interview published at the end of the 2010 outdoor season, Ukhov said he began jumping under the tutledge of Yevgeni Zagorulko, but "I could not win a major title", so two years ago (2008) he changed coaches to Klyugin: "Sergey had just finished competing himself and was coaching his wife Viktoriya (the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships high jump bronze medallist). He approached me and invited me to train with him and I said, "Let's give it a try.""
In a 2010 interview, Ukhov was asked about reports that his weight fluctuated. Q: Is it true that two days before an event you stop eating? Ukhov answered: "No, I am responsible about these things, my weight when I am competing is about 85 kg (185 lbs.), but in the off-season my weigh can go up to 105 kg (231 lbs). I lose the kilos quickly when I am doing weight training. It only takes about two weeks to lose the weight." Q: Many athletes complain that they feel weak when they lose only a few kilos, but here we are talking about 20kg (44 lbs). What does your coach think about this? Ukhov answered: "We had a training camp in Spain, and I think the extra weight helped. A bit of extra weight protects the muscles and ligaments. It is like training with a barbell - only it always with you." Although he stands well over 6 feet tall, Ukhov described his physique as "stocky".
Major competition record
| 2004 | World Junior Championships 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics was the 2004 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Grosseto in Italy.-Men:-Women:-Medals table:-References:*. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-06-06.... |
Grosseto Grosseto Grosseto is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies 14 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain, on the Ombrone river.... , Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
13th | 2.10 m |
| 2005 | European Junior Championships European Athletics Junior Championships The European Athletics Junior Championships are the European championships open for those of age. The IAAF defines Junior as athletes who are 19 years of age or under. It is currently organized by the European Athletic Association.... |
Kaunas Kaunas Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation... , Lithuania Lithuania Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... |
1st | 2.23 m |
| 2006 | European Championships | Gothenburg Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
12th | 2.20 m 2006 European Athletics Championships – Men's high jump The men's high jump at the 2006 European Athletics Championships were held at the Ullevi on August 7 and August 9.-Medalists:-Schedule:-Qualification:... |
| World Athletics Final 2006 IAAF World Athletics Final The 4th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 9 and September 10, 2006.-Results:-External links:*... |
Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million .... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
5th | 2.25 m | |
| 2009 | European Indoor Championships 2009 European Indoor Championships in Athletics The 30th European Athletics Indoor Championships was held in Turin, Italy, from Friday, 6 March to Sunday, 8 March 2009. The championships took place at the Oval Lingotto indoor arena which has a seating capacity of 6,600 people.... |
Turin Turin Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat... , Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
1st | 2.32 m |
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the ASPIRE Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010.-Bidding and organisation:... |
Doha Doha Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar... , Qatar Qatar Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its... |
1st | 2.36 m |
| European Championships | Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
2nd | 2.31 m | |
| Diamond League 2010 IAAF Diamond League The 2010 IAAF Diamond League was the first edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 14 May in Doha, Qatar and ended on 27 August in Brussels, Belgium.... |
Worldwide | Series winner | High jump | |
| 2011 | European Indoor Championships | Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
1st | 2.38 m 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Men's high jump The Men's high jump event at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held at March 4–5, 2011 with the final being held on March 5 at 14:30 local time. -Records:-Qualification:... |
| World Championships 2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011.... |
Daegu Daegu Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the... , South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
5th | 2.32 m 2011 World Championships in Athletics – Men's triple jump The Men's triple jump event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on September 2 and 4.Seven made the automatic qualifying mark... |