Straddle technique

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The straddle technique was the dominant technique in the high jump before the development of the Fosbury flop, which is used by today's jumpers. There existed two variants of the straddle: the parallel straddle and a more diving version. With the parallel straddle head and trunk passed the bar at the same time; John Thomas (silver medal at the 1964 Olympics) used this technique. Valeriy Brumel (gold in 1964) dove a little bit, his head going over the bar before his trunk. John Thomas brought the world record from 2.16 m to 2.22 m in five steps, all in 1960. Brumel jumped for a world record six times, ultimately for a height of 2.28 m in 1963. This was subsequently improved by two straddlers, until flopper Dwight Stones brought the record up to 2.32. The last world record jump with the straddle technique was Vladimir Yashtshenko's 2.34 in 1978. That was improved upon in 1980 by a flopper, and so the era of the straddle came to a close.

In the women's high jump the development was different. Iolanda Balaş was the dominant jumper from 1957 to 1967, but she used a variant of the scissors technique. Her final world record of 1.91 m stood for ten years and was broken in 1971 by Ilona Gusenbauer, a straddle jumper. That record was equalled in 1972 by Ulrike Meyfarth using the flop, but the next series of records were set by jumpers using the straddle technique, ending with the first jump over 2.00 m by Rosemarie Ackermann-Witchas in 1977. The year after Sara Simeoni jumped 2.01 m using the flop.

The straddle jumpers had to land in a sand pit. Only when the safer foam mattresses came into use could the flop develop. There is some debate over which of the two techniques is more efficient in clearing of the bar. Although both have advantages and disadvantages, the Fosbury flop is considered by many easier to learn, especially for children, and thus has become the dominant technique.