There is one basic rule for high jumping: the jumper must leave the ground from one foot, not two. The object is to clear a thin bar perched atop two standards, and jumpers remain in the competition as long as they do not have three consecutive misses. Jumpers may enter the competition at any height above the minimum height and are allowed to pass any height as the bar is raised to new levels. Inflated or foam-rubber landing pits have replaced dirt and sawdust pits. The modern pits are of value because jumpers often land on the back of the shoulders and neck.

Jumping styles evolved in the 20th century with techniques called the scissors, eastern cut-off, western roll, and straddle (or belly roll) preceding the Fosbury flop. Named for its inventor, Dick Fosbury (U.S.), the 1968 Olympic champion, the flop involves an approach from almost straight ahead, then twisting on takeoff and going over headfirst with the back to the bar. Charles Dumas (U.S.), a notable example of the straddle jumpers, in 1956 became the first man to clear 7 feet (2.13 meters). Valery Brumel (U.S.S.R.) held the high-jump record for 10 years using the straddle jump. A woman jumper, Iolanda Balas (Romania), achieved remarkable feats in the event, establishing 13 world records and a winning streak of 140 meets.

The pole vault

Pole-vaulting is conducted along the lines of the high jump; i.e., vaulters attempt to vault over a crossbar placed on uprights, they have three tries at each height, and they land in an inflated or composition pit.

Vaulters run down a runway for about 45 meters (150 feet) carrying a pole. After planting the end of the pole in a box that is sunk below ground level, vaulters leave the ground and pull themselves upward until they are almost doing a handstand on the pole. They twist as they near the crossbar and arch over it feetfirst and facedown.

The first poles, of solid ash, cedar, or hickory, were heavy and cumbersome. Once the bamboo pole was introduced in 1904, it was quickly adopted. Records set with bamboo lasted until 1957, when records were set with an aluminum pole and a steel pole; these were followed by the fiberglass pole in the 1960s.

The dominant vaulter of the bamboo era was Cornelius Warmerdam (U.S.), who scored six world records; he was the first vaulter to go over 15 feet (4.6 meters), and he set a record of 15 feet 7.75 inches that lasted for 15 years. The constant improvement of fiberglass poles helped vaulters such as Sergey Bubka (Ukraine) push the record over 20 feet in the 1990s. In the 1990s the IAAF added women’s pole vault to the competition roster, and Stacy Dragila (U.S.) became the event’s first women’s world and Olympic champion. In 2005 Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia became the first woman to surpass 16 feet 4.75 inches (5 meters).

The long jump

Long jumping, formerly called broad jumping, is the least complicated of the field events. Speed is the most essential ingredient for a successful jump. Jumpers make their approach down the runway at nearly top speed, plant a foot on the takeoff board, and leap into the air. A legal jump requires that no part of the forward foot extend beyond the board. The most popular long-jumping style is called the “hitch-kick,” in which the runner seemingly walks in air.

Three distinct landmarks stand out in the history of long jumping. The first of these was the achievement of Jesse Owens (U.S.), who on May 25, 1935, jumped 8.13 meters (26 feet 8.25 inches), a record that endured for 25 years. The second was Bob Beamon’s (U.S.) leap of 8.90 meters (29 feet 2.5 inches), a jump that exceeded the old world record by 55 cm (21.5 inches). The third feat came in 1991, when Mike Powell (U.S.) broke Beamon’s 23-year record with a jump of 8.95 meters (29 feet 4.5 inches).

Notable among the women jumpers are Heike Drechsler (Germany) and Jackie Joyner-Kersee (U.S.), both of whom leaped over 7 meters (23 feet).

The triple jump

Once known as the hop, step, and jump, the triple jump includes three distinct segments of action. Jumpers come down the runway and bound off a takeoff board, similar in style to but a little slower than long jumpers. The first segment involves jumpers executing a hop by landing on the same foot from which they took off. Then they take a step, landing on the other foot, and conclude with a jump into the sand pit.

Among the outstanding competitors, Adhemar da Silva (Brazil) won two Olympics and set five world records; Jozef Schmidt (Poland), also a two-time Olympic champion, set a record in 1960 of 17.03 meters (55 feet 10.5 inches) and was the first to go over the 17-meter barrier; and Viktor Saneyev (U.S.S.R.) had three world records and three Olympic wins and one second place. Women began competing in the triple jump in the mid-1980s. In 2022 Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela), known as the “Queen of the Triple Jump,” set a new world record, jumping 15.74 meters (51.64 feet).