The Soviet Russia’s high jumper Valeriy Brumel was Tokyo 1964 Olympic champion and multiple world record holder. He is one of the greatest athletes ever to compete in the high jump. He transformed the “straddle style” with his genuine speed in the run-up and the muscular strength built by endless weightlifting sessions.
Brumel started athletics in 1954 and came to prominence in the Olympic year of 1960, winning the high jump Olympic silver medal. He set six world records between 1961 and 1963, jumping 2.23 metres, 2.24 metres and 2.25 metres in 1961; 2.26 metres and 2.27 metres in 1962; and 2.28 metres in 1963. Brumel won the 1962 European Championships and crowned his career with an Olympic gold in 1964.
Besides, he won the high jump at the 1961 and 1963 World University Games. He was the USSR National Champion of 1961, 1962 and 1963. His physical prowess - the ability to launch himself vertically, coupled with sprinting skills (he could cover one hundred metres in ten plus seconds), propelled him to greatness.
It was the time when Russian athletes were revered and admired by the entire world including the American fans, at the height of the Cold War: A testament to the quality and aura of the athletes who used to come out of Russia. In the 1960s, it was high jumper Valeriy Brumel who stole the heart of athletics fans the world over with his elegant leaps and a record-breaking spree.
A leg injury, sustained after hitting a lamp post following a fall from a motorcycle in 1965 cut short Brumel’s international career. Initially, his leg needed amputation, but was successfully saved after a series of operations. Brumel returned to high jumping, but never managed to reach the heights he cleared before the accident, topping out at 2.09 metres in 1970.
The high jump
The high jump, an event in Track and Field or Athletics in which the athlete takes a running jump to attain height. The sport’s venue includes a level, semi-circular runway allowing an approach run of at least fifteen metres (49.21 feet) from any angle within its 180° arc. Two rigid vertical uprights support a light horizontal crossbar in such a manner that it will fall if touched by a contestant trying to jump over it.
The jumper lands in a pit beyond the bar that is at least five by three metres (16.4 feet by 9.8 feet) in size and filled with cushioning material. The running high jump, an Olympic event for men since 1896, entered for the first time into the women’s Olympic athletics program in 1928. The only formal requirement of the high jumper is that the take-off of the jump be from one foot.
Many styles have evolved, including the now little-used scissors, or Eastern method, in which the jumper clears the bar in a nearly upright position; the “Western Roll” and “Straddle Style,” with the jumper’s body face-down and parallel to the bar at the height of the jump; and a more recent backward-twisting, diving style often termed the “Fosbury Flop.”
The 1960s were a period of radical change in high jump. Valeriy Brumel, regarded as the greatest high jumper of his era and one of the greatest exponents of the “Straddle Style.” However, the “Fosbury Flop,” became popular amongst the high jumpers across the world after the success of its first prominent exponent Dick Fosbury and his radical technique.
Brumel and Fosbury, however, never had a head-to-head showdown in a major competition. Brumel won the Olympic gold in Tokyo 1964 and Fosbury won the Olympic gold in Mexico 1968 whilst Brumel was recovering from injuries suffered in the fatal motorbike crash.
Brumel’s birth and career
Valeriy Nikolayevich Brumel, was born on May 14, 1942, in a far eastern Siberian village to a family of geologists, who were members of an expedition to explore the region. He had two brothers, Oleg (born 1944) and Igor (born 1952). Brumel grew up in Luhansk, Ukraine where his parents worked at a local university.
Brumel started the high jump at 12 and exhibited his potential right from the start under coach P. S. Shtein. At 16, employing the then dominant straight-leg straddle technique, he could easily clear two metres. Legend has it that Brumel was so agile that he could kick a basketball hoop from a standing position though he was just 6-feet 1-inch tall.
Later, he improved his skills under the coach V. M. Dyachkov. In 1960, he broke the USSR record, 2.17 metres (7 ft 1 in), and earned a place in the Olympic team. At the 1960 Summer Olympics, he cleared the same height as the winner Robert Shavlakadze, but made more attempts and thus had to content with the silver. It was his first world-class appearance and he succeeded in beating the world record holder American John Thomas.
The records and medals speak volumes of his quality, but his most memorable moment came in 1962 during an annual athletics duel between the United States and Soviet Union in California. In a memorable tussle, he won gold after out-jumping home favourite, John Thomas. After his victory, Brumel received a standing ovation from 80,000 American fans present at the stadium.
Thomas and Brumel were fierce rivals on the field, with Cold War political agenda fuelling the competitive spirit, pushing both to greater heights. However, off the arena, they were good friends. Brumel was a star in Russia and enjoyed liberties and luxuries back home, including a three-bedroom apartment and extra allowances from the government. He loved living life in the fast lane and enjoyed fast cars and bikes.
In 1965, he was undefeated in all competitions, but a motorcycle crash ended his international career. Brumel’s right leg broken in three places and faced an amputation. Professor Gavriil Ilizarov operated him successfully with a new leg-lengthening procedure using his external fixator. Yet even after 29 surgeries, he could not fully recover.
After recovering, he tried a comeback but limited himself to local competitions as he could not touch the heights he used to while reigning as the king of high jump. Brumel retired from all competitions in 1970.
After his sports career, Brumel turned to acting and writing. He starred in such Soviet films like “Sport, Sport, Sport” (1970) and “The Right to Jump” (1971) and authored a series of novels and plays, including the novel “Don’t Change Yourself” (1979) which was later translated into seven languages, and the plays Dr. Nazarov, Olympic Comedy, and Roar from the Crowd. He also wrote the libretto to Rauf Hacıyev’s operetta Golden Caravel.
Brumel was married three times. His first wife, Marina, was a gymnastics instructor who left him with a son in 1965, when Brumel was recovering from his motorcycle crash. In 1973, he married Yelena Petushkova, an equestrian and 1972 Olympic champion in dressage. The couple divorced 18 months later, citing irreconcilable differences. They had a daughter, Vlada Petushkova, born in 1974, raised by her mother.
In 1992, Brumel married Svetlana Belousova, who later founded and managed the Valeriy Brumel Fund. They had a son Viktor. Brumel, educated at the Central Institute of Physical Culture (Moscow) and graduated in 1967; he was made an honoured Master of Sport of the Soviet Union in 1961 and became a member of the Communist Party in 1964. The great Russian high jumper died on January 26, 2003, aged sixty.
Rome 1960 Olympic Games
The men’s high jump at the Rome 1960 Summer Olympic Games took place on September 1. Thirty-two athletes from twenty-three nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. This was the 14th appearance of the event, which is one of twelve athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics.
The returning finalists from the 1956 Games were gold medallist Charles Dumas of the United States, silver medallist Chilla Porter of Australia, fourth-place finisher Stig Pettersson of Sweden, and eleventh-place finisher Maurice Fournier of France. The world record holder, and the “strongest favourite in any athletics event” in 1960, was John Thomas of the United States. Valeriy Brumel of the Soviet Union was considered his biggest challenger; Dumas and the other Soviets (Robert Shavlakadze and Viktor Bolshov) were also outside contenders.
Iraq and Tunisia each made their debut in the event; Germany appeared for the first time as the United Team of Germany. The United States appeared for the 14th time, having competed at each edition of the Olympic men's high jump to that point. The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1912.
There were two distinct rounds of jumping with results cleared between rounds. The qualifying round had the bar set at 1.90 metres, 1.95 metres, and 2.00 metres. All jumpers clearing 2.00 metres in the qualifying round advanced to the final. The final had jumps at 1.90 metres, 1.95 metres, 2.00 metres, 2.03 metres, 2.06 metres, 2.09 metres, 2.12 metres, and then increased by 0.02 metres until a winner was found. Each athlete had three attempts at each height.
The world and Olympic records prior to the Rome 1960 Summer Olympics: World record of 2.22 established at Palo Alto, United States on July 1, 1960, by John Thomas (USA); Olympic record of 2.12 achieved at Melbourne, Australia on November 23, 1956, by Charles Dumas (USA).
All jumpers reaching 2.00 metres advanced to the finals. Each of the three Soviets matched the Olympic record of 2.12 metres: Valeriy Brumel, Robert Shavlakadze, and Viktor Bolshov. John Thomas skipped that height; he joined the three Soviets in all successfully breaking the Olympic record at 2.14 metres. Shavlakadze and Brumel were able to extend the new record further, to 2.16 metres, where it stood at the end of the 1960 Games.
The event was won by Robert Shavlakadze of the Soviet Union, achieving the nation’s first victory in the men’s high jump whilst Valeriy Brumel secured the silver medal; both surpassed the previous best placing for the Soviet team of bronze. American John Thomas took bronze to keep alive the United States’ streak of medalling in every edition of the Olympic men’s high jump.
The Rome 1960 Summer Olympic Games Medallists: Gold medal - Robert Shavlakadze of the Soviet Union with 2.16 (Olympic record); Silver medal - Valeriy Brumel of the Soviet Union with 2.16 (Olympic record); Bronze medal - John Thomas of the United States with 2.14.
Progression of the world record
The first world record in the men’s high jump was recognized in 1912 by the IAAF. As of 2009, the IAAF had ratified forty world records. Valeriy Brumel accounted for the highest of six world records amongst high jump world record holders. Javier Sotomayor of Cuba is the current men’s record holder with a jump of 2.45 m (8 ft 1⁄4 in) set in 1993 – the longest-standing record in the history of the men’s high jump.
Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games
The men’s high jump was one of four men’s jumping events on the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. Qualification was held on October 20, 1964, with the final on October 21. Twenty-nine athletes from twenty nations entered, with one not starting in the qualification round. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
This was the 15th appearance of the event, which is one of twelve athletics events competed at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1960 Games were gold medallist Robert Shavlakadze and silver medallist Valeriy Brumel of the Soviet Union, bronze medallist John Thomas of the United States, fifth-place finisher Stig Pettersson and seventh-place finisher Kjell-Ake Nilsson of Sweden, twelfth-place finisher Mahamat Idriss of France (now of independent Chad), and sixteenth-place finisher Gordon Miller of Great Britain.
While Shavlakadze and Brumel beating Thomas had been a major upset in 1960, Brumel had been the best jumper in the intervening four years, improving the world record six times, and was now the favourite. Brumel and Thomas had faced off nine times since 1960, with Brumel winning eight and Thomas one.
Bulgaria, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Peru, Spain, and Thailand each made their debut in the event. The United States appeared for the 15th time, having competed at each edition of the Olympic men’s high jump to that point. The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1912. There were two distinct rounds of jumping with results cleared between rounds.
Jumpers had to pass 2.06 metres to qualify for the final. The bar started at 1.90 metres, increasing gradually to 2.06 metres. Each jumper had three attempts at each height or could skip any lower height but could not return to a lower height. Each jumper again had three attempts at each height, with the bar starting at 1.90 metres. Three jumpers were unable to perform as well as they had in the qualification.
The standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics: World record - Valeriy Brumel (Russia) - 2.28 in Moscow, Soviet Union on July 21, 1963; Olympic record - Robert Shavlakadze (Russia) and Valeriy Brumel (Russia) - 2.16 in Rome, Italy on September 1, 1960. Valeriy Brumel, John Thomas and John Rambo all equalled the Olympic record with 2.16 metres. Brumel and Thomas then set a new Olympic record with 2.18 metres.
Valeriy Brumel of the Soviet Union won the event to secure the nation’s second consecutive Olympic gold in the men’s high jump. Brumel, who had earned silver in 1960, and American John Thomas, who had previously taken bronze in 1960 and now won silver, became the first two men to win multiple medals in the Olympic high jump. John Rambo, also of the United States, won the bronze medal.
The Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympic Games Medallists: Gold medal - Valeriy Brumel of the Soviet Union with 2.18 (Olympic record); Silver medal - John Thomas of the United States with 2.18 (Olympic record); Bronze medal - John Rambo of the United States with 2.16.
(The author is an Associate Professor, International Scholar, winner of Presidential Awards and multiple National Accolades for Academic pursuits. He possesses a PhD, MPhil and double MSc. His email is [email protected])