Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Women's high jump Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Women's high jump These are the official results of the Women's high jump event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The competition was held on 3 and 4 of September. Austrian Ilona Gusenbauer was the favorite after her 1971 European Athletics Championships victory. There were 40 jumpers and 23 qualified for the final making it a long day for the jumpers involved with such a big field. This competition still used a mixture of the straddle technique and the newer Fosbury Flop technique. Meyfarth at the age of 16 years, 123 days,
Straddle technique jumper crosses the bar face down, with legs straddling it. With this clearance position, the straddle has a mechanical advantage over the western roll, since it is possible to clear a bar that is higher relative to the jumper's center of mass. In simple terms, the western roll jumper has to raise the width of the body above the bar; the straddle jumper has only to get the thickness of the body above it. There are two variants of the straddle: the parallel straddle and a more diving version. With the parallel straddle, the lead leg is kicked high and