Jeremy Taiwo in the decathlon high jump at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (© Getty Images)
Thirteen men produced better marks than him in the high jump, but defending champion Ashton Eaton managed to hold on to his overall lead in the decathlon.
Drawn in the same pool as Damian Warner and Kevin Mayer, the leading trio opened with first-time clearances at 1.92m. Warner and Mayer maintained their clean cards up to and including 2.01m, while Eaton needed all three attempts to go over that height, sailing well clear on his last try to stay on course for the Olympic decathlon record.
Eaton wasn’t able to go any higher, while Mayer and Warner both got over 2.04m, reducing Eaton’s lead to just 68 points. All three men set season’s bests, and it looks as though the battle between Warner and Mayer will go right to the wire.
USA’s Jeremy Taiwo shot right up the leaderboard, going from ninth to third after clearing 2.19m, the best leap of the day. Thomas van der Plaetsen jumped a season’s best of 2.16m to move up 11 places in the overall standings.
Despite recording three no-throws in the shot put, Estonia’s Maicel Uibo continued his decathlon and cleared 2.13m, the same height as Australia’s Cedric Dubler.
Germany’s Kai Kazmirek consolidated his fifth-place position by jumping 2.10m. Algeria’s Larbi Bourrada cleared the same height to top group B, equalling the PB he set seven years ago.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
