Breaking the Record: 100 Years of Olympic History

High Jump

1912:Alma Richards, USA, 1.93 meters

2008: Andrey Silnov, Russia, 2.36 meters

In 1912, Alma Richards propelled his body over six feet off the ground—easily clearing the height of the average man—to win the gold medal in the high jump. In 2008, Andrey Silnov cleared a bar nearly eight feet in the air. It’s crazy to wrap your head around, but if athletes are jumping almost two-feet higher over a century gap, will the 2112 Olympic gold medalist be able to clear a bar the height of a basketball hoop?