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| Event type

High Jump, Men

Date15 – 17 August 1920
StatusOlympic
LocationOlympisch Stadion, Antwerpen
Participants22 from 9 countries

Dick Landon, Harold Muller and Bo Ekelund were the only jumpers to survive 1.90 metres, but only Muller cleared it on his first attempt. Landon was the only jumper to clear the next height, 1.94 metres (6-4 3/8). He made it on his second attempt, breaking the Olympic record of 1.93 (6-4) that had been set by Alma Richards in winning the gold medal at Stockholm in 1912. Landon had met a U.S. diver on the boat to Antwerp, Alice Lord, and they fell in love and later married. Muller was well known as one of the top collegiate football players in the United States. At the 1920 AAU Championships, which doubled as the Olympic Trials, the order of finish had been 1) John Murphy (who finished 5th in Antwerp), 2) Landon, 3) Muller.

There is some dispute about the final height for Landon with his winning jump. It appears that after Landon, Muller, Ekelund cleared 1.90, they raised the bar to 1.94, which would break the Olympic record by 1 centimetre. Only Landon cleared the bar at that height. It seems it was then re-measured, and it appears that the Imperial measure was 6-4¼, which is almost exactly 1.9368, a mark that was seen in 1920 in the Belgian sporting paper, Vélo-Sport, and which is obviously only an extrapolation from 6-4¼ (it could not have been measured to the 1/10th of a millimetre).

It is not known if the height was also re-measured metrically, but both 1.935 and 1.936 are seen in 1920 reports, as follows: 1920 Official Report – 1.935; 1920 United States Olympic Committee Report – 1.935 (6-4 1/5); and 1920 Finnish Report (Seitsemannet Olympialaisat Kisat) – 1.936. It would seem that 1.936 is more correct, rounding down from 1.9368. The 1.935 mark may have been chosen as accurate to the nearest ½-centimetre, but it cannot be certain whether the correct height should be 1.935 or 1.936.

PosCompetitorNOCQualifyingFinal
1Dick LandonUSA1.80 (=1)1.936 (1)GoldOR
2Harold MullerUSA1.80 (=1)1.900 (2)Silver
3Bo EkelundSWE1.80 (=1)1.900 (3)Bronze
4Walter WhalenUSA1.80 (=1)1.850 (4)
5John MurphyUSA1.80 (=1)1.850 (5)
6Howard BakerGBR1.80 (=1)1.850 (6)
=7Pierre LewdenFRA1.80 (=1)1.800 (=7)
=7Einar ThulinSWE1.80 (=1)1.800 (=7)
=9Timothy CarrollGBR1.80 (=1)1.750 (=9)
=9Hans JagenburgSWE1.80 (=1)1.750 (=9)
=9Thorvig SvahnSWE1.80 (=1)1.750 (=9)
12René LabatFRA1.80 (=1)1.700 (12)
13 r1/2Pierre GuillouxFRA1.75 (13)
=14 r1/2Albert HarionBEL1.70 (=14)
=14 r1/2Eric DunbarGBR1.70 (=14)
=16 r1/2François MahyBEL1.65 (=16)
=16 r1/2Jean HénaultBEL1.65 (=16)
=16 r1/2James AndromedasGRE1.65 (=16)
=16 r1/2František StejskalTCH1.65 (=16)
20 r1/2Henri PlegerLUX1.60 (20)
AC r1/2Bill KennedyCAN– (NM)
AC r1/2William HunterGBR– (NM)
DNSRaoul RouelléFRA
DNSGéo AndréFRA

Qualifying Round

Date15 August 1920 — 16:30
FormatAll those clearing 1.80 metres advanced to the finals.
PosCompetitorNOCBest Height Cleared
=1Dick LandonUSA1.80Q
=1Harold MullerUSA1.80Q
=1Bo EkelundSWE1.80Q
=1Walter WhalenUSA1.80Q
=1John MurphyUSA1.80Q
=1Howard BakerGBR1.80Q
=1Einar ThulinSWE1.80Q
=1Pierre LewdenFRA1.80Q
=1René LabatFRA1.80Q
=1Timothy CarrollGBR1.80Q
=1Hans JagenburgSWE1.80Q
=1Thorvig SvahnSWE1.80Q
13Pierre GuillouxFRA1.75
=14Albert HarionBEL1.70
=14Eric DunbarGBR1.70
=16François MahyBEL1.65
=16Jean HénaultBEL1.65
=16James AndromedasGRE1.65
=16František StejskalTCH1.65
20Henri PlegerLUX1.60
NMBill KennedyCAN
NMWilliam HunterGBR

Final Round

Date17 August 1920 — 14:30
PosCompetitorNOCBest Height ClearedJump-Off
1Dick LandonUSA1.936OR
2Harold MullerUSA1.9001.88
3Bo EkelundSWE1.9001.85
4Walter WhalenUSA1.8501.90
5John MurphyUSA1.8501.89
6Howard BakerGBR1.850DNS
=7Einar ThulinSWE1.800
=7Pierre LewdenFRA1.800
=9Timothy CarrollGBR1.750
=9Hans JagenburgSWE1.750
=9Thorvig SvahnSWE1.750
12René LabatFRA1.700