Korkeushyppyssä

Korkeushyppy is the Finnish term for the high jump, an athletic field event in which competitors must leap unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights. The event is part of the athletics program at the Olympic Games and is contested by both men and women. Competitors typically approach the bar with a running start, using a specific technique to propel themselves upwards and over the bar.

The most common technique used in modern high jump is the Fosbury Flop, named after Dick Fosbury, who revolutionized the event in the late 1960s. In this technique, the athlete runs towards the bar in a curved path, jumps off one foot, and arches their back over the bar, clearing it with their head and shoulders first, followed by their legs. Other historical techniques include the straddle, the western roll, and the scissors kick, but these are rarely seen in elite competition today.

The competition begins with a starting height, and the bar is progressively raised after each round. Athletes have three attempts at each height. If an athlete fails to clear the bar in all three attempts at a given height, they are eliminated from the competition. The winner is the athlete who clears the highest bar. Ties are broken by the number of failures at the last cleared height, and then by the total number of failures throughout the competition. Korkeushyppy demands a combination of speed, power, coordination, and agility.