# Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's high jump

The men's high jump was an event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There were 38 competitors from 28 nations, with one non-starter (three-time medalist Patrik Sjöberg). The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Charles Austin of the United States, the nation's first victory in the men's high jump since 1968 and 13th overall. Artur Partyka of Poland became the seventh man to win two medals in the event, following his 1992 bronze with silver in these Games. Steve Smith's bronze was Great Britain's first medal in the men's high jump since 1908.

## Background

This was the 23rd appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1992 Games were gold medalist Javier Sotomayor of Cuba, bronze medalists Artur Partyka of Poland and Tim Forsyth of Australia, seventh-place finisher Troy Kemp of the Bahamas, eighth-place finishers Charles Austin of the United States and Dragutin Topić of Yugoslavia (an Independent Olympic Participant in 1992), and twelfth-place finisher Steve Smith of Great Britain. Sotomayor had broken his own world record in 1993, jumping 2.45 metres for a mark that is still standing as of 2023; however, he was suffering from an ankle injury in Atlanta. Austin, by contrast, had recovered from injuries that had limited him. Kemp was the reigning world champion, while Partyka had placed in the top three at worlds in both 1993 and 1995.
Colombia, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Malaysia, and Ukraine each made their debut in the event. The United States made its 22nd appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

## Competition format

The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1912. There were two distinct rounds of jumping with results cleared between rounds. Jumpers were eliminated if they had three consecutive failures, whether at a single height or between multiple heights if they attempted to advance before clearing a height.
The qualifying round had the bar set at 2.10 metres, 2.15 metres, 2.20 metres, 2.24 metres, 2.26 metres, and 2.29 metres. All jumpers clearing 2.29 metres in the qualifying round advanced to the final. If fewer than 12 jumpers could achieve it, the top 12 (including ties) would advance to the final.
The final had jumps at 2.15 metres, 2.20 metres, 2.25 metres, 2.29 metres, 2.32 metres, 2.35 metres, 2.37 metres, 2.39 metres, and 2.41 metres; the winner also took attempts at 2.46 metres to try to break the world record.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics.
| World record | Javier Sotomayor (CUB) | 2.45 | Salamanca, Spain | 27 July 1993 |
| Olympic record | Hennadiy Avdyeyenko (URS) | 2.38 | Seoul, South Korea | 25 September 1988 |
Charles Austin set a new Olympic record with 2.39 metres.

## Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Friday, 26 July 1996 | 9:00 | Qualifying |
| Sunday, 28 July 1996 | 18:00 | Final |

## Results

Key
* o = Height cleared
* x = Height failed
* – = Height passed
* r = Retired
* SB = Season's best
* PB = Personal best
* NR = National record
* AR = Area record
* OR = Olympic record
* WR = World record
* WL = World lead
* NM = No mark
* DNS = Did not start
* DQ = Disqualified

### Qualifying round

Qualification: Qualifying Performance 2.28 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the final.
| Rank | Group | Athlete | Nation | 2.10 | 2.15 | 2.20 | 2.24 | 2.26 | 2.28 | Height | Notes |
| 1 | A | Charles Austin | United States | – | – | o | – | o | o | 2.28 | Q |
| 1 | B | Tim Forsyth | Australia | – | – | o | o | o | o | 2.28 | Q |
| 1 | B | Artur Partyka | Poland | – | – | o | – | o | o | 2.28 | Q |
| 1 | B | Dragutin Topić | FR Yugoslavia | – | – | o | o | o | o | 2.28 | Q |
| 5 | A | Steinar Hoen | Norway | – | o | o | o | xxo | o | 2.28 | Q |
| 6 | A | Troy Kemp | Bahamas | – | o | – | o | o | xo | 2.28 | Q |
| 6 | A | Jarosław Kotewicz | Poland | – | o | – | o | o | xo | 2.28 | Q |
| 6 | A | Lambros Papakostas | Greece | – | – | o | o | o | xo | 2.28 | Q |
| 9 | A | Lee Jin-taek | South Korea | – | o | xo | o | o | xo | 2.28 | Q |
| 9 | B | Javier Sotomayor | Cuba | – | – | o | – | xo | xo | 2.28 | Q |
| 11 | A | Steve Smith | Great Britain | – | o | – | xo | xo | xo | 2.28 | Q |
| 11 | B | Wolfgang Kreißig | Germany | – | o | xo | xo | o | xo | 2.28 | Q |
| 13 | A | Tomáš Janků | Czech Republic | o | o | o | o | xo | xxo | 2.28 | Q |
| 13 | A | Przemysław Radkiewicz | Poland | – | o | o | xo | o | xxo | 2.28 | Q |
| 15 | A | Charles Lefrançois | Canada | – | o | o | o | o | xxx | 2.26 | |
| 16 | B | Viacheslav Tyrtyshnik | Ukraine | o | o | o | xo | o | xxx | 2.26 | |
| 17 | B | Konstantin Matusevich | Israel | – | xo | o | xxo | o | xxx | 2.26 | |
| 18 | B | Arturo Ortíz | Spain | – | o | o | xo | xo | xxx | 2.26 | |
| 19 | B | Dalton Grant | Great Britain | o | o | xo | xo | xo | xxx | 2.26 | |
| 20 | B | Ian Thompson | Bahamas | – | o | – | xo | xxo | xxx | 2.26 | |
| 21 | B | Gilmar Mayo | Colombia | – | o | xo | xo | xxo | xxx | 2.26 | |
| 22 | B | Marko Turban | Estonia | – | xo | o | o | xxx | — | 2.24 | |
| 23 | A | Mark Mandy | Ireland | o | o | o | xxx | — | — | 2.20 | |
| 24 | B | Khemraj Naiko | Mauritius | o | o | xo | xxx | — | — | 2.20 | |
| 25 | A | Julio Luciano | Dominican Republic | o | xo | xo | xxx | — | — | 2.20 | |
| 26 | A | Cameron Wright | United States | o | o | xxo | xxx | — | — | 2.20 | |
| 27 | A | Chris Anderson | Australia | o | o | xxx | — | — | — | 2.15 | |
| 27 | A | Tomohiro Nomura | Japan | o | o | xxx | — | — | — | 2.15 | |
| 27 | A | Stevan Zorić | FR Yugoslavia | – | o | xxx | — | — | — | 2.15 | |
| 30 | B | Loo Kum Zee | Malaysia | xo | o | xxx | — | — | — | 2.15 | |
| 31 | B | Ed Broxterman | United States | xxo | o | xxx | — | — | — | 2.15 | |
| 32 | A | Kim Tae-hoi | South Korea | xo | xxo | xxx | — | — | — | 2.15 | |
| 33 | B | Cho Hyun-wook | South Korea | o | xxx | — | — | — | — | 2.10 | |
| 34 | B | Fakhredin Fouad | Jordan | xxo | xxx | — | — | — | — | 2.10 | |
| — | A | Hugo Muñoz | Peru | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | No mark | |
| — | A | Wong Yew Tong | Singapore | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | No mark | |
| — | B | Olivier Sanou | Burkina Faso | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | No mark | |
| — | B | Patrik Sjöberg | Sweden | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | |

### Final

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | 2.15 | 2.20 | 2.25 | 2.29 | 2.32 | 2.35 | 2.37 | 2.39 | 2.41 | 2.46 | Height | Notes |
| | Charles Austin | United States | o | – | o | – | o | o | xx– | o | – | xxx | 2.39 | OR |
| | Artur Partyka | Poland | – | o | – | o | – | o | xo | x– | xx | — | 2.37 | |
| | Steve Smith | Great Britain | – | – | xo | – | o | xo | xx– | x | — | — | 2.35 | |
| 4 | Dragutin Topić | FR Yugoslavia | – | o | o | o | o | xx– | x | — | — | — | 2.32 | |
| 5 | Steinar Hoen | Norway | – | o | o | xo | o | xx– | x | — | — | — | 2.32 | |
| 6 | Lambros Papakostas | Greece | – | o | o | o | xo | xx– | x | — | — | — | 2.32 | |
| 7 | Tim Forsyth | Australia | – | o | o | o | xxo | xx– | x | — | — | — | 2.32 | |
| 8 | Lee Jin-taek | South Korea | – | xo | o | o | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | 2.29 | |
| 9 | Wolfgang Kreißig | Germany | – | xo | xo | o | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | 2.29 | |
| 10 | Przemysław Radkiewicz | Poland | – | xo | xo | xo | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | 2.29 | |
| 11 | Jarosław Kotewicz | Poland | o | – | o | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.25 | |
| 12 | Javier Sotomayor | Cuba | – | – | o | – | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | 2.25 | |
| 13 | Troy Kemp | Bahamas | – | – | xo | – | x– | xx | — | — | — | — | 2.25 | |
| 14 | Tomáš Janků | Czech Republic | xo | xo | xo | xx | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.25 | |