2004 Summer Olympics / Athletics - High Jump (Women)

sport	athletics
discipline	high jump
gender	Women
Attendees	34 athletes from 25 countries
Competition location	Athens Olympic Stadium
Competition phase	August 26, 2004 (qualification) August 28, 2004 (final)
Medalists Jelena Slessarenko ( RUS )   Hestrie Cloete ( RSA )   Wita Stjopina ( UKR )

The women's high jump at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens was held on August 26th and 28th, 2004 in the Athens Olympic Stadium. 34 athletes took part.

The Russian Jelena Slessarenko became Olympic champion . She won ahead of the US South African Hestrie Cloete and the Ukrainian Wita Stjopina .

The Swiss Corinne Müller was eliminated from the qualification.
Athletes from Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part.

Current titleholders

Olympic champion 2000	Jelena Jelessina ( Russia )	2.01 m	Sydney 2000
World Champion 2003	Hestrie Cloete ( South Africa )	2.06 m	Paris 2003
European Champion 2002	Kajsa Bergqvist ( Sweden )	1.98 m	Munich 2002
Pan American Champion 2003	Juana Rosario Arrendel ( Dominican Republic )	1.94 m	Santo Domingo 2003
Central America and Caribbean Champion 2003	Desiree Crichlow ( Barbados )	1.81 m	St. George’s 2003
South American Champion 2003	Luciane Dambacher ( Brazil )	1.82 m	Barquisimeto 2003
Asian Champion 2003	Bùi Thị Nhung ( Vietnam )	1.88 m	Manila 2003
African champion 2004	Hestrie Storbeck ( South Africa )	1.95 m	Brazzaville 2004
Oceania Champion 2002	Elizabeth Murphy ( Australia )	1.69 m	Christchurch 2002
	Tiffany Pickford ( New Zealand )

Existing records

World record	2.09 m	Stefka Kostadinowa ( Bulgaria )	Rome , Italy	August 30, 1987
Olympic record	2.05 m		Atlanta Final , USA	August 3, 1996

Remarks:

• All times are based on Athens local time ( UTC + 2 ).
• All heights are given in meters (m).

qualification

August 26, 2004, 8:00 p.m.

The qualification was carried out in two groups. The qualification height for the direct entry into the final was 1.95 m. Nine jumpers jumped this height (highlighted in light blue). Since at least twelve participants were scheduled for the final field, the next three athletes also progressed. Like three other high jumpers, they had mastered 1.92 m, but were ranked ten to twelve due to the rule of failure.

Group A

space	Surname	nation	1.75	1.80	1.85	1.89	1.92	1.95	height	annotation
1	Hestrie Cloete	South Africa	-	-	O	O	O	O	1.95
	Wita Stjopina	Ukraine	-	O	O	O	O	O
3	Tia Hellebaut	Belgium	O	O	O	xo	O	O	1.95	NO
4th	Blanka Vlašić	Croatia	-	-	xxo	xo	O	O	1.95
5	Inha Babakowa	Ukraine	-	O	O	O	O	xxx	1.92
6th	Oana Pantelimon	Romania	-	O	O	xxo	O	xxx	1.92
7th	Tatiana Novoseltseva	Russia	-	O	O	O	x o	xxx	1.92
8th	Ruth Beitia	Spain	O	O	O	O	xxx		1.89
9	Candeğer Kılınçer Oğuz	Turkey	-	O	O	x o	xxx		1.89
10	Corinne Mueller	Switzerland	-	O	O	xx o	xxx		1.89
	As long as Witteveen	Argentina	-	O	O	xx o	xxx
12	Zuzana Hlavonová	Czech Republic	-	O	O	xxx			1.85
13	Bobby Aloysius	India	O	O	x o	xxx			1.85
	Chaunté Howard	United States	-	O	x o	xxx
15th	Marina Aitowa	Kazakhstan	O	xxo	xx o	xxx			1.85
16	Bùi Thị Nhung	Vietnam	O	O	xxx				1.80
17th	Petrina Price	Australia	-	xx o	xxx				1.80

Group B

space	Surname	nation	1.75	1.80	1.85	1.89	1.92	1.95	height	annotation
1	Iryna Mychaltchenko	Ukraine	-	O	O	O	O	O	1.95
2	Anna Chicherova	Russia	-	O	O	O	xo	O	1.95
	Jelena Slessarenko	Russia	-	O	O	O	xo	O
4th	Monica Iagăr	Romania	-	O	O	O	xo	x o	1.95
	Amy Acuff	United States	-	O	O	O	xo	x o
6th	Marta Mendía	Spain	-	O	O	xo	O	xxx	1.92
7th	Romary Rifka	Mexico	-	O	O	xo	xx o	xxx	1.92
8th	Wenelina Wenewa	Bulgaria	-	O	O	xxo	xx o	xxx	1.92
9	Tisha Waller	United States	-	O	O	O	xxx		1.89
	Jing Xuezhu	People's Republic of China	O	O	O	O	xxx
	Juana Rosario Arrendel	Dominican Republic	-	O	O	O	xxx
	Iva Straková	Czech Republic	O	O	O	O	xxx
13	Noengrothai Chaipetch	Thailand	O	O	xo	O	xxx		1.89
14th	Tatyana Efimenko	Kyrgyzstan	-	O	O	xx o	xxx		1.89
15th	Inna Gliznutsa	Moldova	O	O	O	xxx			1.85
16	Caterine Ibargüen	Colombia	-	xo	xx o	xxx			1.85
17th	Nikolia Mitropoulou	Greece	-	xxo	xx o	xxx			1.85

final

August 28, 2004, 8:00 p.m.

Twelve athletes had qualified for the final, nine via the qualification level and three more via their placements. Three Ukrainians, two Russians, two Romanians and one participant each from Belgium, Croatia, Spain, South Africa and the United States competed for the medals.

The favorite was the double world champion from 2001 and 2003 Hestrie Cloete from South Africa. One of her strongest rivals, the European champion and two-time World Cup third-party Kajsa Bergqvist from Sweden, could not start. The Ukrainian Inha Babakowa, who was very successful in the past, reached the final again, but was no longer in the shape of her successful years. The Russian vice world champion and vice European champion Marina Kupzowa was also not at the start in Athens because she had not been able to qualify. Medal contenders were perhaps the two-time World Cup fourth Wenelina Wenewa from Bulgaria and the Russian Anna Tschitscherowa.

At the jump height of 1.99 m, six athletes were still competing. Cloete and the Russian Jelena Slessarenko had so far made no failures. The American Amy Acuff and the Ukrainian Iryna Mychaltschenko each had a failed jump, Wita Stjopina, another Ukrainian, had torn twice and Chicherova three times. Tschitscherowa and Mychaltschenko then retired at 1.99 m with each jumped 1.96 m. Iryna Mychaltschenko was fifth and Anna Tschitscherowa was sixth. Acuff was the only athlete to skip the new jump height of 2.02 m, which put her behind, because Cloete, Slessarenko and Stjopina each mastered the height with their first jumps. Now it was time to master 2.04 m. Slessarenko also mastered this height on the first try. Stjopina and Acuff tore and dropped three times each. Amy Acuff finished fourth, while Wita Stjopina won the bronze medal. Cloete saved her last jump for the new height of 2.06 m after two failed attempts. But in contrast to her competitor, the real favorite failed. So Hestrie Cloete won the silver medal. Jelena Slessarenko jumped the 2.06 m with her first attempt and improved Stefka Kostadinowa's Olympic record by one centimeter. Slessarenko then tried three times in vain at 2.10 m. Jelena Slessarenko became a surprising high jump Olympic champion in Athens.

space	Surname	nation	1.85	1.89	1.93	1.96	1.99	2.02	2.04	2.06	2.10	Bottom line	annotation
1	Jelena Slessarenko	Russia	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	xxx	2.06	OR
2	Hestrie Cloete	South Africa	O	O	O	O	O	O	xx-	x		2.02
3	Wita Stjopina	Ukraine	O	O	O	xxo	xxo	O	xxx			2.02
4th	Amy Acuff	United States	O	O	O	xo	O	-	xxx			1.99
5	Iryna Mychaltchenko	Ukraine	O	O	O	x o	xxx					1.96
6th	Anna Chicherova	Russia	xo	O	O	xx o	xxx					1.96
7th	Oana Pantelimon	Romania	O	O	O	xxx						1.93
8th	Monica Iagăr	Romania	O	O	x o	xxx						1.93
9	Inha Babakowa	Ukraine	O	xo	x o	xxx						1.93
10	Marta Mendía	Spain	O	O	xx o	xxx						1.93
11	Blanka Vlašić	Croatia	O	O	xxx							1.89
12	Tia Hellebaut	Belgium	O	xxx								1.85

• 

  Olympic champion Jelena Slessarenko from Russia

• 

  Bronze medalist Vita Stjopina, Ukraine

• 

  The Russian Anna Tschitscherowa finished sixth in the final

• 

  The Croatian Blanka Vlašić reached the final and came in eleventh place

Web links

• SportsReference high jump , accessed May 12, 2018
• Results on the IAAF website , accessed May 12, 2018
• Official Report of the XXVIIIth Olympiad, Results Athletics , English / French (PDF, 3054 KB), accessed on May 12, 2018

Video

• Women's high jump final - Athens Summer Olympics 2004 , published May 6, 2014 on youtube.com, accessed May 12, 2018

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Central American and Caribbean Championships (Women) on gbrathletics.com, accessed May 13, 2018
2. ^ South American Championships (Women) on gbrathletics.com, accessed May 13, 2018
3. ↑ Asian Championships on gbrathletics.com, accessed May 13, 2018
4. ↑ Oceania Championships on gbrathletics.com, accessed May 13, 2018
5. ↑ IAAF World Records, Women High Jump , accessed on May 12, 2018