How do you win the high jump?
B · Beginner · The jump · 1 of 4The high jump is won by the athlete who clears the greatest height. Athletes take off from one foot and must get over a bar without knocking it off its supports. The bar goes up after each round, each athlete has up to three tries at a height, and three failures in a row end their competition.
How it works
- One foot: "An athlete shall take off from one foot."
- The bar: 4 m long, resting on two small supports. It falls if it is knocked.
- A try: each attempt is a trial. A clearance is shown as O, a failure as X and a pass as a dash.
- The heights: announced before the competition starts. The bar is raised at the end of each round of trials.
- Choosing: an athlete may start at any announced height and may pass any later height.
- Out: "Three consecutive failures, regardless of the height at which any of such failures occur", end the athlete's competition.
- The result: the best height the athlete cleared.
- Measuring: in whole centimetres from the ground to the lowest part of the upper side of the bar.
- Level on height: the place goes to the athlete with fewer jumps at the last height cleared, then to the one with fewer failures in the whole competition. A tie for first can go to a jump-off.
- The clock: normally one minute for each trial.
The rules do not set a style. The backwards technique used by almost all jumpers is the Fosbury flop.
Tricky cases
Can an athlete go over the bar head first?
Yes. The rules require a take-off from one foot and say nothing more about style.
Can an athlete take off from both feet?
No. A two-footed take-off breaks the first rule of the event.
The athlete brushes the bar and it stays on. Is that a failure?
No. It is a failure only if the bar does not remain on the supports because of the athlete's action.
Does the winner have to stop once everyone else is out?
No. An athlete may go on jumping until they have had three failures in a row, and once they have won they choose the heights.
Why the rule exists
Raising the bar step by step turns one question, who can jump highest, into a series of pass-or-fail tests that everyone can follow. The one-foot rule is what makes it a jump and not a gymnastic vault, and it is the only limit on technique.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| World Athletics rules | As above | TR 26; TR 27.1; TR 27.2 |
| Combined events | The bar goes up in fixed steps of 3 cm and there is no jump-off | TR 39.8.4; TR 26.8.4 (note) |
| Children's and school meets | The commentary suggests organisers may let an athlete take a second or third trial at a height after passing an earlier one | TR 26.2 commentary |
| Indoor competition | Rules that were not read for these pages | TR Part V |
From the rule book
World Athletics, Competition and Technical Rules, 2026 Edition, Technical Rules 25.17, 25.21, 26 and 27 and Competition Rule 25.5. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: World Athletics Competition and Technical Rules 2026 (PDF).