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 the modern Olympic Games. The 1948 event was held in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of La Paz. The 1950 event was held in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Uruguayan Athletics Federation. The 1957 event was for men only. Countries are measured by a points system resulting from their respective athletes' performances. The country with the highest total points is declared the winner. List of South American Championships in Athletics records South American Championships in Athletics The South American Championships in Athletics is a biennial athletics event organized by CONSUDATLE. The first edition in 1919