High Jump Battle Competition At Buenos Aires 2018

Summer Youth Olympics

 2018 

High Jump Battle Competition At  Buenos Aires 

2018

BUENOS AIRES - Two athletes battled it out for gold in the high jump final, which became the highlight of the athletics competition on Sunday.

On one side it was the overwhelming favourite Chen Long of China, who jumped 2 metres and 3 centimetres in the first stage of the competition. On the other, Australia's Oscar Miers, who finished seventh in stage one, eight centimetres behind Chen.

Chen and Miers matched and bettered each other jump by jump with the eyes of the spectators glued on their ambitious attempts. They finished the competition with 2.22 metres - a personal best for both and the highest height reached in Youth Olympic Games history. Ukraine's Oleg Doroshchuk completed the podium.

"I am very excited about the result and surprised by my rival who has done so well," said gold medallist Chen. "To beat a record at an Olympic Games is an incomparable sensation that I was not expecting to get."

Chen credited the enthusiasm of the spectators for his record-setting performance: "The people here are much warmer than in China. Feeling that they are applauding you before your jump makes the athlete very strong."

For his part, Miers stressed that he was confident about the final despite his lacklustre result in the first stage of the competition.

"On Thursday I was injured and the rain and the wind had affected me since I'm not used to competing in those conditions," he said. "For me, the record is more important than the silver medal. Honestly, I did not come to Buenos Aires to win prizes. I only intended to enjoy the experience and give my best."