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
Athletics in Australia conducts a range of important athletics events and championships each year. These include: The national titles have been conducted for over a hundred years, though the event has only been a joint championship since 1978. The most successful athletes at this event include Warwick Selvey (19 wins) and Gael Martin (20 wins). The IAAF approved meets at Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne comprise the most important athletics meetings held in Australia, with Australian athletes required to compete in order to gain international selection. Each Australian state or territory holds its own state athletics championships annually. Inter-varsity athletics competitions were conducted in