A case for high jumping as the most challenging track and field event.

The 2024 Olympic Games will take place in Paris, France this summer. Like every four years, track and field or “athletics” as it is known to most of the world will be on full display. 

Track is not one sport but an eclectic potpourri of running, throwing, and jumping events. Some are incredibly simple: sprint straight ahead for 100 meters or run on a narrow strip and jump as far as you can into a pit of sand. Others are more complicated: use a pole to vault over a bar or run with barriers blocking your way. A few are just medieval: try throwing a javelin or hammer. 

There is something for everyone, which is why high school track teams often boast the most athletes of any sport. Where else could a 97-pound 5000-meter runner rub elbows with a 300-pound shot putter?  

Each athlete considers their event to be the most challenging. This is understandable and quaint, but not realistic. High jumping is by far the most challenging of all the track and field events. Some may find this ironic as high jumpers are often stereotyped as lazy and lackadaisical trainers. Take Swedish jumper Patrik Sjöberg who famously smoked a cigarette on the landing pit after he set a world record.  

But post event celebrations aside, hurling your body over a bar nearly 8-feet off the ground as Sjöberg did is no easy task. And the path to get there is even more challenging. What other events only get harder as you succeed? Clear a height? Great, let’s go two inches higher. Pole Vaulting, yes, but there you get to use a long, sturdy pole. In high jumping you only have your body and your mind. 

And you need your mind. You have three attempts to clear a height. Imagine the pressure of that third attempt, especially if others have cleared the height. Sure, the 400 is an intense race, the 400 hurdles even more so. But both races are over in under a minute if you are successful. There is no third attempt—you just run. You can’t pause mid race to reflect on your technique or watch others compete. 

Even if you run the 5,000 meters in the warmest conditions, your pain will end after twenty minutes for the slower runners. High jumping competitions can last hours in drizzling rain or scorching sun. You might have to wait fifteen to twenty minutes between jumps. Alone with your thoughts, trying to stay loose, trying to stay focused. 

For other field events like the horizontal jumps or the throws, there are no barriers. You jump or throw as far as you can. Spectators are uncertain of your success or failure. For the high jump you have a physical barrier in front of you, well above your head, that you watch get higher and higher as you succeed. You have no pole to lean on and everyone knows when you have failed. 

Therefore, the high jump is by far the most challenging of the track and field events. And those of you who adamantly disagree? I offer my old coach’s simple jumping advice: just get over it!