Bohdan Bondarenko

When Bondarenko then cleared 2.39 on his first try, Kynard missed and then used his two remaining attempts at 2.41 (unsuccessfully.) Bondarenko cleared 2.41 (7 feet, 11 inches) on his third try (only his 7th jump of the competition): video of his 2.41 clearance shows him taking off nearly 4 feet away from the bar and clearing it cleanly (if only barely).

By clearing 2.41, Bondarenko also broke the Ukrainian national record of 2.40, set by Rudolf Povarnitsyn in 1985 (which was then a new world record.) Bondarenko was pushed to 2.41 by American Eric Kynard.

They were the only jumpers remaining after 2.33 and engaged in a "passing" duel- Kynard took the lead with a first attempt clearance of 2.33, Bondarenko passed, but then cleared 2.35 on his first attempt.

Kynard missed at 2.35, then passed to 2.37, clearing on his first attempt to retake the lead as Bondarenko passed.

Bohdan Viktorovych Bondarenko (Богдан Вікторович Бондаренко; born 30 August 1989) is a Ukrainian high jumper.

That was the highest jump in the world since 1994.

In 2005 he had a jump of 2.15 metres, achieved in September in Yalta, and in January 2006 in Kyiv, he improved to 2.21 on the indoor track.

In August 2006 he competed at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing.

With a jump of 2.14 metres in the qualifying round, he barely managed to reach the final round, where – at age 16 – he was the youngest finalist.

Six athletes recorded 2.14 metres, and only two of them reached the final, due to having fewer fouls in the competition.

In the final, however, Bondarenko improved greatly to win the bronze medal with a jump of 2.26 metres.

The competition was dominated by the duel behind gold medallist Huang Haiqiang and silver medallist Niki Palli.

In 2007 he improved his indoor best mark to 2.25 at a meet in Kyiv in February.

In the outdoor season, he only managed 2.19 metres.

In 2008, Bondarenko was eligible for his second World Junior Championships.

He had not recorded a notable result during the indoor season, but with a jump of 2.25 metres he qualified for the 2008 World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, leading the season's list for juniors.

This time, all jumpers with 2.14 in the qualifying round passed on to the final.

In the final, Bondarenko cleared every height from 2.08 through 2.26 on the first attempt, except for one miss at 2.21 metres.

This was enough to win the gold medal, ahead of Sylwester Bednarek, who placed fourth two years earlier, and Miguel Ángel Sancho.

Pre-event favorite Karim Samir Lofty disappointed greatly, ending in last place.

In the 2008–09 indoor season, Bondarenko recorded a new career best as he jumped 2.27 in February in Łódź.

Entering the 2009 European Indoor Championships, he managed to equal this height in the qualifying round, which gave him a place in the final.

Here, he entered at 2.15, passed 2.20 in his second attempt but failed at 2.25.

He ended in ninth and last place.

His indoor best of 2.27 dated to February 2009 and his outdoor personal best (PB) of 2.31 was set in June 2012.

After his win at Doha, Bondarenko told EME News that his victory was unexpected: "I had two pre-season training camps in Yevpatoriya where I injured my take-off (right) knee in the end of April. I was able to make only one technical practice one week before my first performance this season. Moreover in Doha I felt discomfort not only in the knee but also in the feet I had operated in 2009. Pain accompanied me at all attempts (in Doha) but such physical conditions became usual for me during last three years" said 23-year-old Ukrainian.

Bondarenko then set another new PB on Sunday 30 June, winning the Sainsbury's Grand Prix meeting (a Diamond League competition) in Birmingham, England with a jump of 2.36, which tied the meet record and bested Eric Kynard of the USA, who finished second with a jump of 2.34.

He set a new personal best of 2.31 on 17 June 2012, jumping in his native Ukraine at Mykolaiv.

Bondarenko was a finalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on 7 August 2012, clearing 2.29 and finishing in 7th place.

Only 2 men jumped higher, as Bondarenko and five other jumpers ended their competition at 2.29, with the places determined by the countback: there was a 3-way tie for the third place bronze medal (based on clearing 2.29 on their first try), with Bondarenko relegated to seventh because he needed two attempts to clear that height.

Bondarenko seems not to have competed on the indoor circuit during the previous years.

He is the 2013 World champion, 2014 European champion, and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist.

Bondarenko uses the Fosbury Flop technique, jumping off his right leg.

When Bohdan won the European Athlete of the Year trophy 2013 his father (and thus trainer) received a trainer's award of the European Athletics Association.

He bested that by jumping 2.33 in his first two Diamond League meets in 2013, beginning with the season's first Diamond League meet at Doha, UAE on 10 May, then again at Shanghai, China, on 18 May.

He won 8 of his first 9 competitions.

Less than a week later, in July 2013, Bondarenko cleared 2.41 metres at another Diamond League meet, the Athletissima, in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He is one of the tallest high jumpers competing on the elite Diamond League circuit, standing 1.98 meters (6' 6"). On 14 June 2014, he achieved his personal best jump of 2.42 metres at the 2014 IAAF Diamond League event in New York City. The jump is a European record and places him joint third on the men's all-time list, behind Javier Sotomayor and Mutaz Essa Barshim and tied with Patrik Sjöberg. His indoor best is 2.27 metres.

Bondarenko is coached by his father Viktor Bondarenko.

In a May 2016 interview for the IAAF's official website, Bondarenko said of his father, "I have always understood him and he has always understood me. Many sportsmen cannot be coached by their parents, but for me he has been very good."