Sergey Malchenko

Sergey Malchenko (Russian: Сергей Мальченко; born 2 November 1963) is a Russian former track and field athlete who competed in the high jump. His personal best mark of 2.38 m (7 ft 9+1⁄2 in) ranks him among the top twenty high jumpers of all-time and at his peak his was the sixth best ever in the event.[1]

Sergey Malchenko
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  Soviet Union
European Athletics Championships
Silver medal – second place1986 StuttgartHigh jump

He represented the Soviet Union three times in major international competition: he was the silver medallist at the European Athletics Championships in 1986, and a finalist at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics and 1989 European Athletics Indoor Championships.

His son, Eduard Malchenko, is also a professional high jumper, who has a best of 2.30 m (7 ft 6+1⁄2 in).[2]

Career

He began competing in the 1980s. In 1983 set a personal best of 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in) in Moscow, then jumped 2.31 m (7 ft 6+3⁄4 in) in Sochi in 1985.[3] His first international success came at the 1986 European Athletics Championships, where he equalled his personal best in the high jump final to take the silver medal behind Soviet team mate Igor Paklin.[4] The following year he was selected to represent the Soviet Union at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics but, after qualifying for the final he failed to register a height. The two other Soviets in the competition, Paklin and Hennadiy Avdyeyenko, reached the medal podium.[5]

Following this setback, he went on to clear the greatest heights of his career. At the beginning of the 1988 indoor season he jumped 2.36 m (7 ft 8+3⁄4 in) in Moscow and took his first national title at the Soviet Indoor Athletics Championships.[6][7] He performed well on the outdoor Soviet circuit that year, jumping an outdoor best of 2.34 m (7 ft 8 in) in Tallinn, then 2.36 m in Dnipropetrovsk.[3] In Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia, he had the best mark of his career in the form of a 2.38 m (7 ft 9+1⁄2 in) jump – an achievement which moved him up to joint sixth place on the all-time lists.[1] This made him the second best athlete that year, behind Javier Sotomayor who broke the men's high jump world record.[8] He ended the year with a win at the Russian Athletics Cup in Vladivostok, jumping 2.35 m (7 ft 8+1⁄2 in).[3]

Malchenko's sole international appearance the following year was at the 1989 European Athletics Indoor Championships, but he could not match his previous form and ended the competition in sixth place with a best of 2.24 m (7 ft 4 in), placing behind fellow Soviet Aleksey Yemelin among others.[9] He competed on the IAAF Grand Prix circuit in 1990 and placed third at the DN Galan and second at the Athletissima and London Grand Prix meets.[3] At the 1990 IAAF Grand Prix Final he came out on top with a season's best jump of 2.34 m (7 ft 8 in).[10] He was third on points on the tour that year, behind Hollis Conway and Georgi Dakov.[11]

He ranked within the top twenty high jumpers in 1991, having a season's best of 2.30 m. His form declined the following year, in which he jumped a best of 2.25 m (7 ft 4+1⁄2 in) at the Brothers Znamensky Memorial, and he retired from competition.[3]

Personal bests
  • Outdoor high jump – 2.38 m (7 ft 9+1⁄2 in) (1988)
  • Indoor high jump – 2.36 m (7 ft 8+3⁄4 in) (1988)

International competition record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1986 European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany 2nd High jump
1987 World Championships Rome, Italy — High jumpNM
1989 European Indoor Championships The Hague, Netherlands 6th High jump

References
  1. High Jump - men - senior - outdoor All Time Best. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-10.
  2. 2011 USA Outdoor, Day 1: Strong Throws, Exciting 10,000m battles, by Alfons Juck, note by Larry Eder. Run Blog Run (2011-06-24). Retrieved on 2014-07-13.
  3. Sergey Malchenko. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-07-10.
  4. European Championships (Men). GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 2014-07-10.
  5. Men High Jump World Championship Rome (ITA) 1987 - Sunday 06.09 Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine. Todor66. Retrieved on 2014-07-10.
  6. Sergey Malchenko. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-10.
  7. Soviet Indoor Championships. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 2014-07-10.
  8. World Top Performers 1980-2005: Men (Outdoor). GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 2014-07-10.
  9. 1989 European Indoor Championships Results. AthleticsDB. Retrieved on 2014-07-10.
  10. Sergey Malchenko Honours. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-10.
  11. IAAF Grand Prix. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 2014-07-10.
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