Ivan Ukhov head coach Sergey Klyugin
2014 Indoor season
Ukhov's indoor campaign in 2014 was his best season of his career, with three jumps of 2.40m or higher in the space of 6 weeks, though it would later be annulled due to doping charges. He finished a disappointing second at the World Indoor Championships on 9 March, clearing the winning height of 2.38m but losing the gold medal on the tie-breaking count-back. This medal would later be stripped.11 January, 1st - 2.38m: Ukhov opened his 2014 Indoor campaign on Saturday 11 January in the Russian city of Novocheboksarsk with a world-leading leap of 2.38m. Competing at the Chuvashya Governor Cup, he cleared his first four heights – 2.15m, 2.24m, 2.30m and 2.35m – on his first attempt, equalling his best mark from the entire 2013 season. (By 2.30m he was jumping alone, as only one other jumper cleared 2.24m.) He then cleared 2.38m on his third attempt, and then made three attempts at 2.41m, the last being very close with just his heel clipping the bar. It was his highest jump since his Olympic victory in August 2012, also 2.38m. It also equaled his best ever seasonal debut as Ukhov jumped the same height in his opening competition of 2011 before going on to win the European indoor title. It improved by six centimeters the world-leading mark set by Andrey Silnov, who cleared 2.32m in December. Not only was the height remarkable for so early in the season, but for so early in the day – the Men's High Jump competition got underway at 11am local.
16 January, 1st - 2.41m: Ukhov produced the best indoor performance in the world for 21 years when he cleared 2.41 at the Yuriy Lukasevich Memorial meeting in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk on Thursday 16 January. This added one centimeter to his own national indoor record, achieved in Athens five years earlier, and also to the Russian absolute record held jointly by himself and Vyacheslav Voronin, who jumped 2.40m outdoors in London back in 2000. Ukhov jumped 2.15m, 2.23m, 2.32m and 2.36m with his first attempts before getting over 2.41m (7' 10-3/4") on his third attempt, just brushing the bar with his heels. He immediately asked the bar to be raised to an (absolute) world record height of 2.46m (8' 0-1/2"), but then decided to rest without attempting. Compatriots Andriy Silnov and Yevgeniy Korshunov were second and third respectively, both going over 2.29m.
Statisticians at Track & Field News report only 3 men have ever jumped higher (indoors or outdoors), and this is the highest jump in history in the month of January.
Note: Video of Ukhov's 2.41m leap in Chelyabinsk shows he is still competing in sprinter spikes, eschewing a jumping shoe.28 January, 1st - 2.36m: Ukhov won the "High Jump With Music Cup" meet in Moscow, with second attempt clearance of 2.36m (7' 8-3/4"). He was pushed by Ukrainian jumper Andriy Protsenko, who cleared 2.33 (7'7-3/4") for second place. Ukhov made one attempt at 2.40m and then retired, saving his legs for the "Winter Meet".
2 February, 1st - 2.36m: Won the IAAF-approved "Russian Winter Meet" in Moscow for a fifth time, this one in a dominating fashion, with a first attempt clearance of 2.36m (7' 8-3/4"). He then attempted to break his own meet record (2.39m) but failed in three tries at 2.40m (7' 10-1/2"), his only misses on the night. Only two other jumpers, Protsenko and (Russian) Daniel Tsyplakov, were able to clear 2.28m.
8 February, 1st - 2.40m: Won the 38th annual High Jump with Music meet at Arnstadt, Germany with a first try clearance of 2.40m (7' 10-1/2") (breaking the old meet record of 2.38m) He was "pushed" by compatriot Aleksey Dmitrik, who improved his personal best by 4 cm when he cleared 2.40m on his second attempt. Dmitrik then made 3 tries at a Russian record 2.42m, while Ukhov passed in order to try a World Indoor Record height of 2.44m, his second and third attempts being very close. Note: Dmitrik is now the first jumper in history to leap 2.40m and finish second. Ukhov has 3 previous wins at Arnstadt, from 2009 to 2011, while Dmitrik won in 2012 and 2013.
18 February, 1st - 2.38m: Won the Russian Indoor Nationals, held at the CSKA Indoor Arena in Moscow, with a jump of 2.38m (7' 9-3/4"), beating Daniil Tsyplakov who finished second with a personal best jump of 2.34m. Ukhov then made two unsuccessful attempts at a would-be world indoor record height of 2.44 m (8 ft) and passed his final attempt. Afterwards he said he was simply tired, because with 37 jumpers in the competition it took a long time to get through the lower heights.
25 February, 1st - 2.42m: Won at the 02 Arena in the Czech capital Prague with an absolute Russian record, equal European record, and 2014 world-leading height of 2.42m (7' 11-1/4") on Tuesday 25 February. He did so in dominating fashion, taking just 4 jumps- all first attempt clearances at 2.15, 2.25, 2.33m, and 2.42m. A video camera focused on the bar revealed Ukhov cleared the record height with nearly 5 cm (2 inches) of daylight between his torso and the bar. Only Cuban legend Javier Sotomayor has jumped higher, with his indoor record of 2.43m set at the Indoor world championships in 1989. Ukhov then made three attempts at 2.44 (8' 0"), none of them very close. Ukhov's coach - former Olympic champion Sergey Klyugin - said afterwards that Ukhov was slightly frustrated by the placement of the high jump pit too close to the inside turn of the track, as this limited the length of his approach: he started his run-up from the base of the banked turn. There were only 4 men in the special high jump competition at the Prague Indoor Meet. After Ukhov and Russian compatriot Aleksey Dmitrik were the only ones to clear 2.33m (both on their first attempt) they agreed to immediately raise the bar to 2.42m.8-9 March, 2nd - 2.38m: The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships was held in the seaside city of Sopot, in northern Poland. In the qualifying session on Saturday 8 March at noon, Ukhov took the bare minimum number of jumps (two) required to qualify amongst the top 8, with an effort of only 2.25m. In the Finals on Sunday afternoon, all 8 men began jumping at 2.20m (7' 2-1/2"). Ukhov then passed every-other height, jumping only at 2.29 and 2.34 (7' 8") and clearing both on his first attempts, while still wearing his warmup tights. He then passed at 2.36m and watched as Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) and Andriy Protsenko (Ukraine) cleared on their first attempts. With the bar then raised to 2.38 (7' 9-3/4") Barshim again cleared on his first attempt, while Ukhov (his pants removed) needed all three tries to clear. Both men then failed at 2.40, and Ukhov was relegated to second place because of his misses at 2.38.
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