This Will NEVER Happen Again || The UNBREAKABLE Record of Javier Sotomayor

Only 13 people have ever done it. A small, exclusive club of untouchable athletes who, together, have managed to jump higher than any other humans in all of recorded history. However, one athlete from Cuba is unanimously considered the undisputed greatest to ever live. It's July 29th of 1989. Javier Sotomayor steps up for one of the most daunting tasks in track and field. Before him is a high jump bar, positioned at exactly 8 feet, or the equivalent of 2.44 meters. Look above you right now. You're probably in a room with a ceiling of approximately 8 feet. And here's the ultimate question. Do you think you could jump over your own ceiling? On this fateful day in 1989, Sotomayor would finally achieve this legendary task. This jump was so remarkable that it still has never been matched by any other high jumper in all of track and field history. Well, except for Sotomayor himself, because almost exactly 5 years later, he would somehow outperform this unbelievable world record. On July 27th of 1993, he cleared a truly spectacular height of 2.45 meters, which translates to 8 feet and one half inch. This jump to this day, some 27 years later, has now stood strong against any competition from around the world, only being approached by a very select few. Needless to say, this is one of the longest standing world records in all of athletics, a moment forever stamped into time as one of the pinnacle moments of human performance. But believe it or not, when it comes to high jumping greatness, this is just the tip of the iceberg for this amazing Cuban jumper. It's 1982, in the hot humid sun of Havana, Cuba, and frequenting the basketball courts at a local sporting academy, is a 15 year old, who just so happens to be 6 foot 3. This tall stature already distinguished this one athlete as a special prospect in the eyes of many, but during one particular pickup game, the surrounding coaches and the other athletes saw something that they had never witnessed in the past. When going up for a rebound, a young Sotomayor almost touched the very top of the backboard, and his head managed to graze the side of the 10 foot rim. This left everyone watching in complete shock, and as the following months unfolded, the jumping abilities of this teenager were simply too great to ignore. One day, Sotomayor went inside the facility to see just how high his jumping abilities truly were, and after a few careful measurements and a few follow up calculations, his vertical leap was estimated to be approximately 43 inches, and this was without any real training. From 1983 to 1985, the once basketball enthused Javier was slowly convinced to give high jumping a shot, and despite his early reservations in a sport that was far less popular, his talents would soon spark a revolution that would ignite the entire country. At just 14, he managed to clear the 2 meter barrier, and then in 1983, he cleared a height of 2.15 meters, a mark that is rarely attained by junior athletes, let alone someone who had just taken up the sport. At this point in his jumping career, his potential was almost limitless. He was tall, he was coordinated, he was smart, but more than anything, his natural abilities were nearly untouchable. By 1984, the high jump had become his main focus, and after months and months of extensive training and various competitions, he managed a jump of 2.33 meters, which to this day still remains as the world youth record. At just 16 years of age, he was already entering the international conversation as a potential Olympic medalist, but despite his rapid rise to elite level jumping, Cuba's boycott of the 1984 Games prevented him from partaking in the biggest event of that season. The reality was that during the 1984 Olympic cycle, this 16 year old was a real threat to make the Olympic podium, and even with his lack of international experience, his 2.33 meter jump would have tied him for the silver medal at the Los Angeles Games, only falling 2 centimeters away from the gold medal performance. After 1984, his successes only continued, in 1985, he placed second in the World Indoor Championships, and then in 1986, he placed first in the World Junior Games, with an amazing leap of 2.25 meters. By 1987, his personal best had increased to 2.37 meters, a height that would have earned him the gold medal in every previous installment of the Olympic Games, and amazingly, he was still only 19. As 1988 approached, the prospect of earning the gold medal at these Olympics were very real, but unfortunately, once again, the nation of Cuba boycotted the 1988 Olympics, which took place in Seoul, South Korea. During the 1984 season, he was considered a solid medal prospect, however in 1988, he almost certainly would have won the gold medal, because just 4 days before the opening ceremonies, he would amazingly break the high jump world record. This 2.43 meter jump was his very first world record, and when compared to the Olympic performances that took place just 19 days later, he would have won the gold medal by 5 full centimeters. By the end of 1988, he was clearly the world's best jumper, and then in 1989, he moved forward into the land of the untouchable, and he would forever cement his name as the GOAT of the high jump. At the 1989 World Championships in Budapest, he entered this competition with very high hopes. For this competition, he was competing against two of the best jumpers of the 1980s, Patrick Schoberg from Sweden, and Dietmar Mogenberg from Germany. Through the first few rounds, it was apparent that Sotomayor was in great form, and along with Schoberg and Mogenberg, the new Cuban sensation managed to clear the 2.35 meter barrier. This clearance now tied him at first place with the other athletes, however in the very next round, he did this. This 2.37 meter clearance was superb. With magnificent height and solid execution, he pulled off a world championship winning jump just when he needed it the most. And while this performance would have already earned him the gold medal, he then decided to do this. With an unprecedented indoor leap of 2.43 meters, he had broken another world record, and he did it during the World Championships. On his very first attempt at this height, he cemented his greatness against the world's best competition, and moving forward, his jumping would be almost unbeatable. Later that same year on July 29th, he would break his own outdoor world record with an amazing clearance of 2.44 meters. As fate would have it, this jump still places him as the only athlete to ever clear the 8 foot barrier. After this double world record year, he would go on to win his first Olympic title in 1992, finally taking part in his very first Olympic Games. Following this Olympic victory in 1992, he would then set the still standing world record just one year later, with an absolutely untouchable leap of 2.45 meters. Since 1988, Sadamayor has been the official world record holder in this event, and since 1984, he has held the world youth record with a jump of 2.33 meters. What makes this one athlete so unforgettable was not just his world records, but the frequency with which he jumped over 2.40 meters. Throughout the entire history of the high jump, only 13 athletes have ever cleared the 2.4 meter barrier, and only 5 have done it more than once. However, for this unrivaled Cuban jumper, he cleared the 2.4 meter barrier on 24 separate occasions. Thanks for watching everyone, and as always, until next time.