Javier Sotomayor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Javier Sotomayor

Sotomayor in 2009
Personal information
Born	(1967-10-13) 13 October 1967 (age 57) Limonar, Matanzas, Cuba
Height	1.93 m
Weight	80 kg
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	High jump
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Cuba Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 1 0 World Championships 2 2 0 World Indoor Championships 4 1 1 Pan American Games 3 0 0 CAC Championships 2 0 1 Total 12 4 2 Olympic Games Gold 1992 Barcelona High jump Silver 2000 Sydney High jump World Championships Gold 1993 Stuttgart High jump Gold 1997 Athens High jump Silver 1991 Tokyo High jump Silver 1995 Gothenburg High jump IAAF World Indoor Championships Gold 1989 Budapest High jump Gold 1993 Toronto High jump Gold 1995 Barcelona High jump Gold 1999 Maebashi High jump Silver 1985 Paris High jump Bronze 1991 Seville High jump Goodwill Games Gold 1994 Saint Petersburg High jump  Gold 1998 New York High jump  Pan American Games Gold 1987 Indianapolis High jump Gold 1991 Havana High jump Gold 1995 Mar del Plata High jump Friendship Games Silver 1984 Moscow High jump CAC Championships Gold 1985 Nassau High jump Gold 1989 San Juan High jump Bronze 1983 Havana High jump Universiade Gold 1989 Duisburg High jump Pan American Junior Championships Gold 1986 Winter Park High jump CAC Junior Championships (U20) Gold 1986 Mexico City High jump

Javier Sotomayor Sanabria (born October 13, 1967) is a famous Cuban track and field athlete. He specialized in the high jump and still holds the world record. Many people consider him the best high jumper of all time.

Sotomayor won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He also won two gold medals and two silver medals at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. He earned four gold medals at the IAAF World Indoor Championships between 1989 and 1999. He also won three straight titles at the Pan American Games from 1987 to 1995.

About Javier Sotomayor

Javier Sotomayor was born in Limonar, Matanzas Province, Cuba. This was on October 13, 1967. His mother worked at a day-care, and his father worked at a sugar factory.

Because he was tall, Sotomayor first went to a Cuban sports school to play basketball. But at age 14, his coaches changed his sport to high jump. By the time he was 19, he was already ranked among the top five high jumpers in the world.

Javier Sotomayor has four sons. One of them, Javier Sotomayor García, also competes in the high jump.

Early High Jump Career

Setting Junior Records

Sotomayor was very young when he started breaking records. He was only 14 when he first jumped over 2 meters (about 6 feet 6 inches). By the end of 1983, his best jump was 2.15 meters.

On May 19, 1984, he set a new junior world record. He jumped 2.33 meters (about 7 feet 7 inches) in Havana. Sadly, he could not go to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Cuba and many other countries did not attend the games that year.

In 1985, he won a silver medal at the 1985 IAAF World Indoor Games in Paris. He jumped 2.30 meters. He kept getting better, jumping 2.34 meters in Havana two months later. In 1986, he improved again to 2.36 meters.

Sotomayor won his first big international title in 1987. This was at the Pan American Games. He also set a new personal best of 2.37 meters (about 7 feet 9 inches) in Athens, Greece.

Becoming a World Record Holder

First World Record in 1988

Javier Sotomayor made history on September 8, 1988. This was in Salamanca, Spain. He set a new world record by jumping 2.43 meters (about 7 feet 11 inches). This jump broke the old record by one centimeter.

However, Sotomayor again missed the chance to compete in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Cuba decided not to attend these Olympics either.

Breaking His Own Records (1989 and 1993)

Sotomayor broke his own world record two more times.

• On July 29, 1989, he jumped 2.44 meters (8 feet) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was a very special jump because it was the first time anyone had ever cleared 8 feet! He did this on his second try.
• On July 27, 1993, he set the current world record of 2.45 meters (about 8 feet and one-half inch). This amazing jump also happened in Salamanca, Spain.

At the 1993 Salamanca meet, Sotomayor only needed four jumps to set the record. He cleared 2.32 meters, then 2.38 meters on his first try. Then, he asked for the bar to be raised to 2.45 meters. He missed his first attempt but cleared it on his second try, barely touching the bar.

Videos of his record jump show his unique style. He had a special running approach with two long steps in the middle. He used a strong left leg to take off and pumped both arms.

After setting the record in Salamanca, Sotomayor said he loved the city. He felt like he was in Cuba because people recognized him and children surrounded him.

Indoor World Record in 1989

Sotomayor also holds the world indoor record. He set it on March 4, 1989, in Budapest. He cleared 2.43 meters on his first try. This happened during the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Olympic and World Champion

Winning Olympic Gold in 1992

When Sotomayor finally got to compete in the Summer Olympics, he won big. He earned the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

In Barcelona, five high jumpers cleared 2.34 meters. But Sotomayor was the only one to clear it on his first try. This meant he won the gold medal because of how few attempts he needed. He then tried to set a new Olympic record at 2.39 meters but missed.

Double Champion in 1993

Less than a month after setting his outdoor world record of 2.45 meters, Sotomayor won the 1993 World Championships in Athletics in Stuttgart, Germany. He jumped 2.40 meters, which was a new record for the World Championships. The second-place jumper only cleared 2.37 meters.

He continued to dominate. On March 25, 1995, he cleared 2.40 meters again at the Pan American Games in Argentina. At the 1995 World Championships in Athletics in Sweden, he cleared 2.37 meters. He finished second based on missed jumps.

In 1997, Sotomayor won another gold medal at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics in Athens, Greece. He jumped 2.37 meters, which was the best jump in the world that year.

Challenges and Comeback at the 2000 Olympics

Sotomayor faced some challenges in the late 1990s. He had injuries in 1996, which affected his performance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He finished 11th.

In 1999, he won the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg. However, a few days later, officials said there was a problem with one of his tests. He was not allowed to keep his medal and was sent home. This was a big and surprising event in the sport.

Even with a two-year suspension, Sotomayor was allowed to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. His suspension was reduced, letting him return to the sport at age 32.

The high jump finals in Sydney were held in rainy and windy weather. This made it hard for the jumpers. Sotomayor won a silver medal. He had taken only two jumps with no misses, which helped him win the silver in the tough conditions.

Javier Sotomayor's Amazing Career

Sotomayor's dominance of all-time best high jumps.

Javier Sotomayor was incredibly dominant in high jump history. When he retired, he held 17 of the top 20 highest jumps ever recorded. Only 13 men in history have jumped 2.40 meters or higher. Sotomayor did it 24 times in 21 different competitions! He is the only person to have cleared 2.44 meters (8 feet), and he did it twice.

His best year was 1994. He was the only jumper to clear 2.40 meters or better that year, doing it ten times. He won many competitions, including the Goodwill Games and the World Cup. His best jump that year was 2.42 meters.

Track & Field News ranked Sotomayor among the "Top 10" high jumpers for ten different years. He was ranked #1 for eight of those years (1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998). This shows how consistently great he was.

End of His Career

In September 2001, Javier Sotomayor announced he was ending his high jump career. He later explained that injuries forced him to retire. A problem with his Achilles tendon made it hard to jump. It reduced his running approach from nine steps to just five.

Competition Results

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  Cuba
1983	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Havana, Cuba	3rd	2.17 m
1984	Friendship Games	Moscow, Soviet Union	2nd	2.25 m
1985	World Indoor Games	Paris, France	2nd	2.30 m
	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Nassau, Bahamas	1st	2.30 m
	Universiade	Kobe, Japan	10th	2.20 m
1986	Pan American Junior Championships	Winter Park, Florida, U.S.	1st	2.27 m
	Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U20)	Mexico City, Mexico	1st	2.31 m (A)
	World Junior Championships	Athens, Greece	1st	2.25 m
	Ibero-American Championships	Havana, Cuba	1st	2.30 m
1987	World Indoor Championships	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.	4th	2.32 m
	Pan American Games	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.	1st	2.32 m
	World Championships	Rome, Italy	9th	2.29 m
1988	Ibero-American Championships	Mexico City, Mexico	1st	2.35 m A
1989	World Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	1st	2.43 m (iWR)
	Central American and Caribbean Championships	San Juan, San Juan	1st	2.44 m
	Universiade	Duisburg, West Germany	1st	2.34 m
1990	Central American and Caribbean Games	Mexico City, Mexico	1st	2.34 m (A)
1991	World Indoor Championships	Seville, Spain	3rd	2.31 m
	Pan American Games	Havana, Cuba	1st	2.35 m
	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	2nd	2.36 m
1992	Ibero-American Championships	Seville, Spain	1st	2.30 m
	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	1st	2.34 m
1993	World Indoor Championships	Toronto, Canada	1st	2.41 m
	Gran Premio Diputación	Salamanca, Spain	1st	2.45 m WR
	Central American and Caribbean Games	Ponce, Ponce	1st	2.35 m
	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	1st	2.40 m
1994	Goodwill Games	St. Petersburg, Russia	1st	2.40 m
1995	World Indoor Championships	Barcelona, Spain	1st	2.38 m
	Pan American Games	Mar del Plata, Argentina	1st	2.40 m
	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	2nd	2.37 m
1996	Ibero-American Championships	Medellín, Colombia	1st	2.30 m
	Olympic Games	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.	11th	2.25 m
1997	World Championships	Athens, Greece	1st	2.37 m
1998	Goodwill Games	Uniondale, New York, U.S.	1st	2.33 m
	Central American and Caribbean Games	Maracaibo, Venezuela	1st	2.37 m
1999	World Indoor Championships	Maebashi, Japan	1st	2.36 m
	Pan American Games	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada	–	DQ
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	2nd	2.32 m
2001	World Indoor Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	5th	2.25 m
	World Championships	Edmonton, Ontario, Canada	–	DQ

See also

• List of doping cases in athletics