European diving champion Yulia Prokopchuk: Until the athlete is ready for the jump morally and psychologically, little can happen. Jumping starts from a meter springboard

Are there people on the planet who can jump higher than their height? What is the world record? You will find out about this by reading the article.

Sport - is life

Sport is always excitement. But this statement applies to fans and spectators. Professional athletes who have dedicated their entire lives to a particular type of competition cannot afford to give in to emotions. For such people, sport is work, hard work. This is the only way they can achieve their goal and show the best result, prove to themselves and the whole world that the years and effort on the way to the coveted pedestal were not wasted.

At first glance, it is not the most spectacular sport. But if you look a little more closely, it becomes clear that men and women who conquer heights one and a half times their own height reach heights that are inaccessible to others. Thus, it immediately becomes clear how much effort and worry is put into each jump. For those who are interested in the question: “what is the world record for high jump?”, this article was written.

The beginning of the story

Before answering this question, let's look at history. High jump is a relatively young Olympic discipline. Ancient Greece competed in various sports, but not once during the 293 games did Olympians compete in the high jump. They practiced a kind of sports competition - they lined up several horses and jumped over them with a running start. But in its modern version, the discipline appeared only in the 19th century. There is an opinion that there was some influence here from some tribes of Central Africa, who to this day compete in high jumps during folk festivals.

What is the world record for high jump? Such a jump was first recorded in 1859. Then a certain Robert Gooch jumped, breaking a height of 1 m 70 cm. Interestingly, he did this by setting the bar at an acute angle, and the movements of his legs resembled scissors. Thus, the young man laid the foundation for one of the most popular jumping styles, and already in 1896 the first medals in this sport were awarded at the Olympic Games.

World Record: High Jump (Men)

With a height of 195 cm, Cuban Sanabria seems to have been born specifically for professional sports. While still a teenager, he reached a height of 2 meters. In 1984, sixteen-year-old Sotomayor showed an excellent result, jumping 233 cm. And at the age of 17, the guy set a world record among juniors, jumping 236 cm.

What is the world record for men's high jump? In March 1989, at a closed stadium in Budapest, Javier conquered a height of 243 cm. But so that no one would have any doubts, in 1993 the athlete confirms his championship, setting a new world record, breaking the bar of 245 cm. The achievement remains relevant even today. today, despite the attempts of many athletes. For example, at the 2013 championship in Moscow, Ukrainian jumper Bogdan Bondarenko tried to improve his result by 1 centimeter, but the height remained unconquered.

World Record: High Jump (Women)

A similar situation exists among women athletes. Bulgarian jumper Stefka Kostadinova became the best among women in indoor jumping five times (from 1985 to 1997), and this is also a unique achievement. She first showed the best result in the high jump in 1986, taking the bar at 208 cm, and a year later she improved it by 1 cm, setting the current world record. At the same time, Stefka’s height is 180 cm. Currently, Ms. Kostadinova holds the post of President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee.

Personal record that did not become a world record

People who are significantly taller than average height have a primary advantage in jumping, since their center of gravity is higher, and accordingly, they need to raise their own body weight to a lower height. On average, a person is able to jump a distance that is 20% of his height, but there are exceptions. For example, the Swedish high jumper Stefan Holm, with a height of 181 cm, jumped 240 cm. That is, if the world record holder Javier Sotomayor had a bar 50 cm higher than the jumper’s height (26%), then the Swede’s was 59 cm, which accounts for approximately 33% of its growth. So far this is a unique achievement in this sport.

Work on yourself and it will definitely bring a certain result. Who knows, maybe you will be the one to set a new world record!

Kirill Stadnichenko

535 0

Interview

On the eve of March 8, UNIAN spoke with one of the best Ukrainian diving athletes - European champion and world championship medalist Yulia Prokopchuk, who spoke about the peaks of her career, motherhood, how diving became popular after the European Championships, and how strong she remains competition with rivals at the most prestigious world competitions.

Diving is not the most popular sport in Ukraine. At the same time, for many years, Ukrainian athletes have regularly brought medals to the country at world and European championships. And if earlier Zaporozhye was unconditionally considered the “base” of domestic diving, now talented athletes are increasingly appearing in other cities.

Kiev resident Yulia Prokopchuk has been delighting the public with successful performances at the World and European Championships for 10 years. From bronze at the 2006 European Championship in Budapest to gold at the 2016 European Championship in London. The last Olympic cycle was also marked by two World Cup medals - bronze in the individual tournament in Bracelona 2013 and silver in the team tournament in Kazan 2015.

It is curious that Yulia Prokopchuk’s specialty is jumping from a 10-meter platform. And as a child, as the athlete herself admitted, it was very difficult for her to overcome her fear and jump... from the side of the pool.

Multiple European champion and world championship medalist Yulia Prokopchuk spoke in an interview with UNIAN about the highs in her long career, the increase in popularity of this sport after last year's European Championships in Kiev and the prospects for its development, as well as about rivalry with representatives of China at the most prestigious world competitions.

My husband and I have such a tradition - we always celebrate Women’s Day at the Japanese restaurant “Murakami”. At the same time, we go to the same establishment - to the same address. The tradition has been going on for three years now. And I think that this year we will not change our tradition; we will go to celebrate. Only the three of us, with the child.

Do you have any food preferences?

Traditional Japanese dishes - sushi, salads... Nothing special or impressive.

Do your family generally like holidays?

Yes. I really love the holidays. I like it when a company gathers, everyone is walking, having fun, everyone is smiling and happy.

What surprises is your husband preparing?

Trains. I don’t know yet how it will be this time. Let's see how the day starts.

Do you often have “after-hour” holidays on regular weekdays?

Now, to be honest, it’s a little time for that. The child takes up a lot of time in our lives - there are more surprises and attention to him than to each other. In general, we like to pamper ourselves with gifts, give each other something unusual, surprise each other.

At the height of your sports career, you didn’t see your husband as often as you would like?

Of course, there wasn’t much time, but, for example, the tradition of celebrating in “Murakami” appeared when I was an athlete. That is, I tried to spend more time with my loved ones during my sports career. Now, of course, I am completely immersed in my family.

You have stepped away from active performances since your son was born about a year ago. I heard that they are already teaching him to swim...

Certainly. For now he is in the bath, but we are already teaching him to dive, swim, and developing him physically. We try to make him a strong man.

Are you preparing a sports career for your son?

In any case, I want him to play some kind of sport, sport is in our blood. I don’t know what kind of sport he wants to do - diving, football, something else. It’s too early to talk about it now, he’s still small. But he should play sports in any case.

We are not thinking about a professional career yet. In general, I’m not a fan of making plans for the future. Everything has its time.

Is your husband an athlete?

No, he has nothing to do with professional sports.

When do you think about returning to big-time sports? Or will the fan no longer see Yulia Prokopchuk on the springboard?

I haven’t thought about it yet. I spend time with my child and I like it...

And still?

Return to sports?... I think it’s unlikely.

Will you be a coach in the future?

I want to be a coach. I like it. But as a jumper... I want to devote myself more to my family...

But can’t you imagine life without sports?

You know, the first six months were very difficult... I constantly wanted to climb the tower, jump, I missed my old lifestyle. But now I like spending time with my child and family more...

In the future, I would like to train children, teach them how to dive, and pass on my knowledge and experience. But, again, I won’t make any guesses. What if in a month, in a year, something completely different turns up. Therefore, it makes no sense to say firmly that I will be a coach. But, naturally, I want to do something extra besides family.

Over the course of ten years, you have consistently won awards at European championships and then at the World Cup. Can you name the best year of your career, the peak?

It's hard to name a specific year. The peak of my form is, rather, individual competitions in which I showed good results. And throughout the year there can be both downs and ups in your career, this is a very long period of time.

Then let's highlight a separate tournament, where you showed the brightest jump in your career, or achieved a significant result?

The most memorable tournament was the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, ​​where I won a bronze medal. Then I felt something like euphoria inside. I was very pleased with my performance. And from this comes the reward. That bronze was akin to gold for me. The emotions were so vivid, simply indescribable.

Best result? Perhaps this is the 2016 European Championships in London, when I took gold. Then I had a record amount of points, I set a personal record. I felt like I was jumping lightly, everything was going so well.

By the way, shortly after the tournament in London there was Rio 2016, where you were left without a medal. The same as at other Olympics. What was missing from the Olympic Games?

Confidence... Skill and desire, a great desire, were always with me. I think this is a purely psychological condition. Games are always a huge stress.

You also did not win the world champion title, unlike the European Championship gold medal...

We had very strong athletes from China. If at ordinary tournaments you can fight with them and win, then at the world championships there are no options. They know how to prepare themselves psychologically for the most important starts. I repeat once again, for me, bronze at the World Cup in Barcelona 2013 was like gold.

Now, judging by the results of recent major competitions, the Chinese are no longer so stable. They don’t always jump clearly and perfectly. But a few years ago, in my time, unfortunately, it was almost impossible to fight them.

The last Olympic tournament in Rio was held outdoors. There is also the famous outdoor ski jump in Barcelona, ​​where you won your bronze medal. Are competitions very different in an indoor pool and outdoors?

Yes very much. In an indoor pool there are four walls, a roof over your head - no wind, no sun, no rain. In the pool there are more comfortable conditions for competitions, where you can concentrate on the jump and fully feel it. Nothing bothers you, nothing distracts you.

On the street, the sun may shine in your eyes, you are already distracted, somewhere a breeze will blow... You cannot fully concentrate, your thoughts are constantly “wandering.”

So you prefer to compete indoors?

Personally, I love indoor pools. For complete confidence in your jump. It, of course, sometimes gets lucky in the outdoor pool. You jump back and everything is great. But it’s better when you are completely confident in your jump.

How do rivals react to different pools?

It's all individual. It comes down to the little things. If you jump in the same pool all the time, everything is fine. You come to another one and realize that you are doing absolutely nothing. It happens that there are different types of concrete in different pools. Where it is tougher, in another pool it is softer. Something else happens... There are a lot of nuances that can affect an athlete’s performance in the most unexpected way. And he didn’t necessarily show a bad result because he’s in bad shape at the moment.

Diving is a fairly extreme sport for the average person. At what age should children start practicing this sport “according to science” in order to achieve results over time?

As they say, the sooner the better. It is advisable to bring children at the age of five, when they can still be “stretched”, to give them the professional stretching necessary when performing jump elements. It is also important to lay down the “physics” at the initial stage. And only then you can go jumping, to a more professional level. Therefore, at 5-6 years old you can bring children. The later, the harder it will be to go through all this and “catch up” with your peers.

How long does it take between the start of training and the first jump?

In principle, elementary jumps can be started from the very beginning, gradually moving to more complex ones. But this is still purely individual. There is a child who is afraid to do jumps, and he needs a gradual approach; the coach must prepare him for this jump. And there is a child who you ask to make a jump, and he went and jumped without any problems. That is, here, too, a lot depends on the child himself.

Do the jumps start from a meter springboard?

First of all, children are taught to swim. And then the youngest children first jump from the side, and then there is a meter-long springboard, etc. - increasingly. From a height of 3 meters and above.

Yulia Prokopchuk won the gold medal at the European Championship / photo Xsport

I remember during a tour for journalists, in the training room near the pool there were some kind of foam rubber mats. Are they used in beginner training?

They are used by both adults and children - equally. This is preparation for a jump in the gym. First there is a warm-up in the gym, acrobatic training, trampoline training, then the athlete performs certain elements of jumping in the gym when he jumps into the foam rubber. And then already in the pool - he jumps into the water. The difference is that you need to land in the foam with your feet, and in the water with your hands, you need to “spin” the jump. This is all done in order to learn how to navigate in space.

Admit it, did you personally have fear before the first jump in your life?

Of course it's scary. It was very scary, I was generally a coward. And I was very afraid to jump.

That is, you and the trainer had certain psychological tests, classes...

You know, I will say this, of course, a lot depends on the coach, but until the athlete himself readjusts, until he is ready for the jump morally and psychologically, little can happen.

At what age did you personally start training? Where? And who was your first coach?

In general, I have been doing rhythmic gymnastics since I was 4.5 years old. When I came to the diving section at the age of 8, I was already prepared physically, in terms of stretching. I was only taught to swim and jump from the side. Therefore, I smoothly went through the initial stage [of preparation] in the previous section and paid more attention to jumping.

I had my first coach - Grigory Ivanovich Morgun, who taught me the basics of jumping. Then, unfortunately, he passed away. I switched to Andrei Vasilyevich Rudenko, who coached me almost until the end of my career and with whom I won all my medals, for which I am very grateful to him.

Last year the European Championships took place in Kyiv. It turned out to be a very bright and colorful show. The everyday life of Ukrainian divers is also filled with training in such excellent conditions as in the LIKO pool? Or does everyone have their own problems? To what extent do other swimming pools meet international standards - in Zaporozhye, Kharkov, and other cities?

Leading jumpers, members of the Ukrainian national team, train in this pool, it is used daily. The difference is that before major international competitions they “make him beautiful” so that he “shines” in the television cameras. Regarding standards, since the European Championship was held here, it, of course, meets all international standards. The only thing that the organizers of the European Championship lacked was seats for spectators. Nobody expected that there would be such a big rush and problems constantly arose with a lack of places. If we compare our pool in purely sporting terms with others where international competitions are held around the world, we have a similar pool. Meets all standards.

As for other cities of Ukraine, I haven’t competed in Ukraine outside of Kyiv for a very long time, I haven’t traveled around the country. Therefore, it’s difficult for me to say what has changed there and in what direction - has it become radically better or worse...

As for the capital, I personally started training in the Kiev swimming pool of CSKA on Vozdukhoflotsky Prospekt. Now I train at LIKO. By and large, only these two pools use water for jumping training in Kyiv.

Has the excitement around diving increased since the European Championships in Kyiv? Did people come, watch the beautiful competitions, and start bringing their children to the diving sections?

Yes, we took children around a lot, there were queues. People even called me and asked me for advice on which coach was best to go to. The main thing is that all this does not disappear. So that the excitement remains and diving is as popular as it was six months ago, when the European Championships just ended.

Does the state, represented by the Ministry of Youth Sports, somehow help Ukrainian divers? Is there attention and financial support?

Of course, the state does not stand aside. We are paid for numerous trips to competitions abroad. The state pays scholarships to the winners and prize-winners of the World and European Championships, which is also a good help. At the same time, our Federation pays fees here, within the country, when we are preparing for international competitions. Leading athletes are given discounts on housing purchases, which is also important.

What kind of attention does the NOC give, given that diving is an Olympic sport?

The National Olympic Committee also constantly supports us. In particular, it’s very nice when you are recognized as the best athlete of the month. I myself have received such awards. This is pleasant not so much from a material point of view (although this, of course, is very important), but from a moral one. You are loved, appreciated, respected, and your successes are followed. Believe me, this is very important for an athlete.

Plus, I cannot help but note such a fact as the very good personal attitude of the head of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Sergei Nazarovich Bubka towards the athletes. I had a problem with my arm, the injury turned out to be serious, and the NOC president found the opportunity to put me in touch with a doctor, who helped a lot, gave me a massage course, went with me to Rio and “led” me directly to the start of the competition. As a result, I was able to recover and fully participate in the Olympic competitions. The human factor is very valuable in the relationship between athletes and the NOC.

Kirill Stadnichenko

If you notice an error, select it with the mouse and press Ctrl+Enter

At the World Indoor Championships starting in early March in Valencia, Elena Slesarenko will be, as well as at the Beijing Olympics in the summer, the main contender for victory in the jumping sector. If almost no one knew her even before the previous Olympic Games in Athens, now the Volgograd athlete receives increased attention from all sides.

Hobby has become a profession

What does high jump mean to you now?

Now this is the main activity. I devote almost all my time to him.

But at first it was probably just a hobby...

As a child, I was in love with athletics and grew up as a very active girl. I was looking for myself in many events: I ran sprints and middle distances, long jumped, and high jump too. I hesitated in choosing a university because I dreamed of becoming a pharmacist. I was thinking about where to go: medical or physical education. And then the results began to grow in the “height”. I fulfilled the master of sports standard, although I was far from world level. I entered both institutes, but at the last moment I chose medical school.

Wow!

Yes. But, as they say, you can’t outsmart fate... It was very difficult to combine classes with studies. Often I had to practice under the light of spotlights. And with such loads, I jumped 1.92, fulfilling the standard of an international master of sports. And this moment influenced my future life. Foreign trips and commercial starts began... I got into the Russian national team, and, accordingly, medicine faded into the background. After a year and a half of training, I transferred to the physical education academy. Now I'm a happy person. A hobby has grown into a favorite activity and has actually become a profession.

Do athletes ever have moments when they want to give up everything?

In 2005 I had a stress fracture and didn’t know what to do. It was very scary that the sport could end like this. But then I calmed down and realized that the injury was not that serious.

How many years have you been in sports?

My first coach was Marina Gennadievna Apanasenko. She brought me into the sport, developed my talent as a jumper, and then passed it on to my current coach, Boris Nikolaevich Gorkov. I was fifteen then, and we have been working together for 10 years.

Training, competitions, run-ups, jumps... Do you think they jumped to the moon?

I'm not a statistician (smiles). I can't even imagine. I don’t keep track of my data by year: what starts, what results. I sometimes scold myself for this, because I need to know at least something. It often happens that after training, Boris Nikolaevich, having calculated the amount of work with the barbell, says that they unloaded a couple of cars of metal.

Well, do you even know how many competitions you won?

To my shame, I don't know. I used to keep a notebook in which all my competitions from the age of 15 were written down. And in 2004, on the eve of the World Championships in Budapest, this notebook was stolen from me at the Russian Championships. I won both Russia and Budapest then, but my notebook disappeared. The grief, of course, was universal. After all, not only the notebook “gone” with the backpack, but also money, phone and everything else. But after that I somehow stopped painstakingly taking notes.

There are no friends in the sector

Do track and field athletes make fun of each other during training camps? For example, are shoelaces tied in a knot?

We don't have such close contact. After all, we have an individual sport, not a team one. So the jokes are only on a verbal level. I think I will be misunderstood if I tie my opponent’s sneakers in a knot.

Do you have any friends in the sector?

No, just like enemies. And there is no such thing that I quietly hate anyone. We compete, train together, that's all we have in common. Everyone has their own business. But if I feel that some girl needs help... For example, I came to a competition without a coach, and it’s clear that just give her a simple hint and she’ll do everything. I'll give you a hint. Of course, only when this athlete is not my competition.

Well, are you friends with anyone from the Russian team?

Certainly! First of all, these are the girls with whom we live and train together - from Volgograd. With Tanya Lebedeva, Lena Isinbaeva. Now, of course, we communicate with Lena less often for obvious reasons. But at competitions, if we cross paths, we speak like human beings and support each other.

When you decided that sport was your future, how did your parents react to this?

Mom was terribly afraid of high jumps. I kept thinking that I would fall on the bar and it would hurt. I think she's still worried. But in principle, both mom and dad reacted normally to my choice.

At competitions, does the presence of parents in the stands constrain you?

This rarely happens. Perhaps only at the Governor's Cup, which takes place annually in Volgograd. On the contrary, I am pleased when close people are among the audience.

Who do you call first after the competition, if they are not in Russia?

Differently. If I go without a coach, then, of course, the first text message goes to him. If he is with me, then he is with my husband. In general, it's hard to say. But in any case, among the first people I tell about how I finished the competition are my parents, coach, husband, my spiritual father and Marina Gennadievna.

You have already won both the World Championship and the Olympics. How are you with motivation?

After your victory in Athens, you, like Tatyana Lebedeva, became involved in charity work...

It actually feels good to do something useful. Especially for those who, for various reasons, cannot solve their problems. Previously, it was accepted that tithes from “easy money” should be given to those in need. So we have a project that we will definitely implement after the winter season. Let us help children whom fate has deprived of their parents.

USSR champion in trampoline sports, participant in the opening ceremony of the 1980 Olympics, Elena Slipachenko, found herself in a difficult situation. She has not walked for several years and is confined to a wheelchair. About 11 years ago, the athlete hit her back. Doctors diagnosed a compression fracture. There was no money for treatment. And two years later Elena became paralyzed. Now only her arms move.

Now she lives on a pension of 14 thousand rubles in a tattered apartment in St. Petersburg. A janitor-guest worker takes her out into the city in a chair. There, on Nevsky Prospekt, a woman begs for alms. According to Elena, the money collected helps her pay rent. However, her son, Maxim, lives with her and does not help her in any way. The young man works as a bartender and only comes to the apartment to spend the night.

Slipachenko is visited by social workers, but they cannot help her much. There is nothing in the apartment for a wheelchair, nor in the entrance. That is why Elena has not been able to wash herself for a long time. “There is social security. I am on social security, a disabled person of the first group. They come every day,” Elena noted.

If it weren’t for the assistant who takes the former athlete outside for a nominal fee, she would never have seen the blue sky. Program “Andrey Malakhov. Live broadcast” invited Slipachenko to the studio. Elena explained that after finishing her professional sports career at 18, she trained as a bartender. The ex-athlete started working in a cafe, since coaching did not bring her much income. However, she received the injury many years after playing trampoline.

“Recently, an acquaintance asked whether you want to live or not? This is not life, it’s tough,” says 55-year-old Elena.

Slipachenko herself did not admit why her son did not help her. That is why Maxim himself was invited to the studio. Before filming, he told the editors of the program that he had not communicated with his mother for many years.

“My entire childhood was relatively happy. However, at a certain point I learned about the illegal substances being distributed and used. Then it got worse. The substances were distributed by this very woman,” Maxim said frankly.

He does not call Elena his mother, but at the same time he recalls how, at the age of 8-10, he saw her in a deranged state. Because of this, the boy was bullied and teased at school, and his relationships with his peers did not work out. Maxim is still offended by his mother.

“I try to improve relationships, sometimes I cook something,” Elena noted.

According to Maxim, he lives with his mother because he cannot rent a separate room, but at the same time he does not help her in any way. The young man notes that he doesn’t need anything from her, not even housing.

Elena Slipachenko's brother is also the owner of the apartment. As Andrey said in a telephone conversation, he plans to take his part of the property from his sister. He has his own family, but he does not help his relative with finances.

Andrei Malakhov expressed the hope that Maxim will make peace with his mother, and that his former colleagues will help Elena.

58 - Internal news page

9:10 22.06.2016

On the second day of competition at the Russian Athletics Championships, the winners in the long jump among men and women were determined.

For women, the leader of the Russian season predictably became the national champion. In her first attempt at the finals, she managed to fly 6.84 m, which is four centimeters better than her previous achievement this year. This was enough for Klishina to win. The second place was (6.69), the third - (6.63 m).

“After the first attempt, I calmed down a little. I tried not to make yesterday’s mistake, not to step in and make it effective. Then I started thinking about what I shouldn’t have done (laughs). Although I still made a couple of good attempts, and for example, I jumped from the rubber at 6.68 m and the result was not what it could have been. My coach and I were solving our technical problems here, since there weren’t enough starts, and I needed to work on some points like maintaining speed in the last steps. We knew that I was quite prepared. So it was nice to jump and test myself. I’m in a good mood, before warming up I read the news about the IOC’s decision, and was happy for myself and all the other athletes who would still be able to go to Rio. I don’t yet know what documents need to be submitted to participate in the Games. But I think that my coach and agent will do everything right. Of course, all these months have not been easy for all of us. We didn’t really understand why we were doing everything. The situation around was difficult. But it’s okay, we did it. In a few hours I’m flying to Moscow, almost immediately moving to the USA and starting training again,” Klishina said.

For men, the best result was shown by , who, after jumping in qualifying at 8.22, again flew 8 meters. Vasily again turned out to be the only athlete who was able to overcome this magical milestone. His winning try was at 8.06. The 21-year-old became the silver medalist of the national championship for the first time in his career. Fedor was only three centimeters short of 8 meters, but he was still pleased because he set a personal record of 7.97. 2013 world champion Alexander Menkov is gradually gaining shape and showed very stable jumps in Cheboksary. On his best attempt, he cleared 7.91 for third place.

“I’m happy, although it was hard after yesterday. People were already pinning a gold medal on me and no matter where I was, everyone reminded me of my latest results. But the coach found the right words and I managed to pull myself together. As a result, I held another start in 8 meters - already the fourth in a row, so I’m happy. So far I’m going undefeated, I hope to continue to progress. We competed in parallel with Lena Isinbayeva and all attention was focused on her. As a result, I often got claps from spectators who supported the girls performing in the section for pole vault. But I managed to do this too,” Kopeikin shared.