Straddle technique straight, and head and trunk pass the bar at the same time. Charles Dumas, the first high jumper to clear 7 ft, and John Thomas (silver medal at the 1964 Olympics) used this technique. Valeriy Brumel (gold in 1964) dove a little bit, his head going over the bar before his trunk. Probably the most extreme exponent of the dive straddle was Bob Avant, who cleared 7 ft. in 1961. Avant's technique was close to a pure dive, with just a small knee lift on his lead leg. The last world record jump with the straddle technique was Vladimir Yashchenko's
South American Championships in Athletics South American Championships in Athletics The South American Championships in Athletics is a biennial athletics event organized by CONSUDATLE. The first edition in 1919 was competed between only two countries (Chile and Uruguay), but it has since expanded and has generally been held every two years since 1927. In addition, 8 unofficial championships were held between 1918 and 1957: The 1918 event was titled "Campeonato de Iniciación". The 1922 event was titled "Campeonato Latino-Americano". The 1931 event was held in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Uruguayan independence. The 1946 event was held in celebration of the 50th anniversary of