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
Spain at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics Spain at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics Spain competed at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics from August 27 to September 4 in Daegu, South Korea. The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation announced a squad of 49 athletes to compete at the event. The team will be led by medal hopefuls Manuel Olmedo, the reigning European indoor 1500m champion, and Mario Pestano, who is in 4th position on this year’s Discus Throw world list. The following athletes appeared on the preliminary Entry List, but not on the Official Start List of the specific event, resulting in a total number of