Athlete Has Held 'Unbreakable' World Record For 32 Years That Defies Science

A Cuban athlete once set a sensational high jump world record that still stands today - 32 years later.

Javier Sotomayor won a gold medal in the high jump at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics, before securing silver eight years later at Sydney 2000.

Standing at 6ft 4in tall, the Cuban was initially profiled as a potential basketball player before switching to high jumping at the age of 14.

He used his height to good effect in the latter, setting one of the longest-standing world records in the history of athletics.

In 1993, Sotomayor cleared the incredible height of 2.45 metres at a meeting in Salamanca, Spain.

Footage of the record still exists online, and shows the Spanish commentators clearly in disbelief at what they had just witnessed.

For comparison to the modern day, New Zealand's Hamish Kerr won gold in the men's high jump at Paris 2024 with a best clearance of 2.36 metres.

In second place was United States athlete Shelby McEwen, who lost out to Kerr in a jump-off.

But Sotomayor's record has never come close to being broken, with the Cuban remaining alone as the only athlete to ever clear 8 feet (2.44m).

In fact, he has done so twice, first clearing the mark in 1989 - though that particular jump is not recognised on the official World Athletics website.

Speaking on the IAAF's 'Inside Athletics' show in 2015, Sotomayor said: "Honestly, when I broke my first world record I never thought I would be here today as the world record holder still.

"Until then, the record had improved little by little, and hadn't lasted more than four or five years. Never did I think that my record would last for 27 years!

"Honestly, it's too hard for me to tell you who will break the record ... I achieved big things during my career, and when I retired I was very proud of my achievements.

"But as an athlete, I was very ambitious, so what I missed out on was converting one of my silver medals into gold, and jumping 2.46m!

"In Cuba, I am proud to say that I am one of the most recognised athletes. Despite having retired so many years ago, I'm still one of their favourites."