Hennadij Avdjejenko

Cyrillic ( Russian )
	Геннадий Валентинович Авдеенко
Transl. :	Gennadij Valentinovič Avdeenko
Transcr. :	Gennady Valentinovich Avdejenko
Cyrillic ( Ukrainian )
	Геннадій Валентинович Авдєєнко
Transl. :	Hennadij Valentynovyč Avdjejenko
Transcr. :	Hennadij Walentynowytsch Avdjejenko

Hennadiy avdyeyenko ( Ukrainian Геннадій Авдєєнко , Eng. Transcription Hennadiy Avdyeyenko , also Russian Геннадий Авдеенко - Gennadi Awdejenko - Gennadiy Avdeyenko ; * 4. November 1963 in Odessa ) is a former Ukrainian high jumper , who for the Soviet Union starting Olympic champion was.

He began his sporting career in 1980 when, at the age of 16, he already reached a distance of 15.57 m in the triple jump . Then he concentrated on the high jump and in 1982 jumped 2.22 m. Nevertheless, he came to international fame in 1983 rather by chance. The Soviet team was still looking for a high jumper for the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki , and although he only finished sixth in the Spartakiad , coach Igor Ter-Ovanesyan , formerly world record holder in long jump and Olympic medalist, accepted him into the national team. When he arrived in Helsinki, the 19-year-old Avdjejenko, whose own personal best was 2.28 m, had to let 12 jumpers with 2.32 m or more in height overtake him. He had the bar first set to 2.29 m and immediately afterwards to 2.32 m, which he jumped cleanly in the first attempt, and in the end he won the gold medal.

Due to the boycott of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984 by the Eastern Bloc countries, he lacked international comparison, but he would have liked to take part in the games, since his personal best was now 2.38 m. In 1987 at the World Championships in Rome he could only jump the 2.35 m and had to be satisfied with second place.

He then set the sporting climax of his career at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, where he won the gold medal in the high jump with 2.38 m, ahead of the American Hollis Conway (silver). The bronze medal was awarded twice in this discipline, to Rudolf Powarnizyn , who also competed for the Soviet Union, and to the Swede Patrik Sjöberg .

Web links

• Gennadiy Avdeyenko in the database of World Athletics (English)