(Sports news) The men’s high jump saw the most competitive lineup this year as the top four men have soared across the same height. Four men from different places around the world have dominated the event this season as all of them have the potential to go past Javier Sotomayor’s record of 2.45m set in 1993. Since then, only two have crossed 2.40m and nobody has crossed that mark in the last 5 years.

Mutaz Essa Barshim has been the top athlete in high jump in the past decade. In 2014 at Bruxelles, he cleared 2.43m which is the closest so far to Sotomayor and Barshim became the second athlete after Patrik Sjöberg to win three medals in Olympics at the event. Barshim won the silver at 2012 London, 2016 Rio Olympics and this year at Tokyo he won the gold alongside Gianmarco Tamberi. At the present he is the only active athlete to cross the 2.40m mark and has done it 11 times.

Tamberi became the first Italian to win the gold in men’s high jump. The Olympic first victory was his first major victory and last won a major championship win in 2019. The 29 year old is yet to jump past the 2.40m mark but has come close with 2.37m in Tokyo, his personal best is 2.38m which came back in 2016 but has been back in form this season.

Maksim Nedasekau also soared 2.37m at the Tokyo Olympics to secure his first major victory at the event. The 23 year old has been one of the youngest athletes this year in high jump but the shortage of experience has not been keeping him low. Nedasekau secured the first ever Olympic medal for Belarus in High jump this year and is one of the tallest competitors standing over 6 feet and 4 inches. He is the only athlete to have jumped 2.37m twice this year as the other three have done it once.

It will be the 29th year in the 2022 season as Sotomayor’s record has been on top, Barshim has the strongest chances of breaking the world record but has come close in the past decade. He will turn 31 next year and is one of the seniors in the event. Nedasekau is the youngest among the top athletes this year, he was on the same level as Barshim and Tamberi at Tokyo and can aim for the 2.40 mark next year.

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