Hennadiy Avdyeyenko

Hennadiy Valentynovych Avdyeyenko (Ukrainian: Геннадій Валентинович Авдєєнко) (born November 4, 1963 in Odessa) is a retired high jumper who represented the USSR and later Ukraine. He trained at the Armed Forces sports society in Odessa.[1] He won gold medals at both the Olympics and the World Championships.

Career

Avdyeyenko entered the 1983 World Championships as an unknown. His personal best was only 2.25 m and he had placed 6th at the main tryout meeting, the 1983 Spartakiad; however, high jump coach Kęstutis Šapka and team coach Igor Ter-Ovanesyan lobbied to have him included in the team.[2] In the World Championship final, up against thirteen athletes with bests of 2.30 m or better, Avdyeyenko improved his personal best by 7 centimetres to win an unexpected gold medal, beating the United States' Tyke Peacock on countback.[2]

Avdyeyenko placed second at the 1987 World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, jumping a new personal best (and Soviet indoor record) of 2.38 m but losing to teammate Igor Paklin in a jump-off.[3][4] He won another silver medal at the outdoor championships that year, again jumping 2.38 m and tying with Paklin; this time the tie did not have to be broken, as Patrik Sjöberg won on countback and the gold medal was thus not at stake.[5]

Avdyeyenko then won another gold at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, in the absence of Cuba's world record holder Javier Sotomayor, whose country boycotted the Olympics.[6] He jumped 2.38 m yet again, and this time he was the only jumper to clear that height.[6]

Avdyeyenko graduated from Odessa Polytechnic Institute and worked as an expert in refrigerating equipment.[1]

Major achievements
Year Tournament Venue Result Extra
1983 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 1st 2.32 PB
1987 European Indoor Championships Liévin, France 3rd
World Indoor Championships Indianapolis, United States 2nd
World Championships Rome, Italy 2nd 2.38 PB
1988 Summer Olympics Seoul, South Korea 1st 2.38 equal PB

References
  1. (in Russian) Great Olympic Encyclopedia, vol.1-2, Moscow:Olympia Press Publisher, 2006, entry on "Авдеенко", available online
  2. Pekola, Tapio; et al. (1983). Yleisurheilun MM-kisakirja Helsinki '83 (in Finnish). Juoksija. ISBN 951-9465-05-7.
  3. Butler, Mark (2008), IAAF Statistics Handbook Valencia 2008, IAAF
  4. "High Jump Result - 1st IAAF World Indoor Championships". IAAF. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  5. Butler, Mark; IAAF Media & Public Relations Department (2011), IAAF Statistics Handbook Daegu 2011, IAAF
  6. "Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Men's High Jump". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
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