Patrik SJOBERG

Patrik Sjoberg was a flamboyant character on the high-jumping circuit during the 1980's, and the criticism from the media that he received for his off-field activities, such as cigarette smoking, somewhat belied his considerable athletic talent. Sjoberg finished eighth at the 1981 European Junior Championships, in the year when he won his first of seven consecutive Swedish titles. The following year, at only 17 years of age, he competed at his first European Championships in Athens, where he finished in equal tenth place. In 1983, he improved his personal best to 2.33m at Oslo on 9 July which made him the top ranked junior in the world that year, however, in the European Junior Championships in August, he could only manage third place with a best of 2.21m. Earlier that month he had jumped 2.23m to finish 11th at the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki.

Patrik was still eligible for junior competition in 1984, but his competitive performances improved considerably in that season, and he amply proved that he could compete on equal terms with the more experienced athletes in the senior ranks. On 10 June, he equalled his personal best of 2.33m at Eberstadt where he finished fourth behind Zhu Jianhua (China) who set a world record of 2.39m. In the high jump final at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, held on 11 August, Sjoberg progressed his way through the early heights before clearing 2.31m on his second attempt. Only three other athletes were also able to negotiate that height but they had all done so on their first attempts. Lying in fourth place, and needing to jump higher to win a medal, Sjoberg proceeded to jump 2.33m (see photo above) on his second attempt, a performance which ultimately earned him the silver medal. (Ron Casey)

Patrik Sjoberg followed his second place finish in the high jump at the 1984 Olympic Games with some noteworthy performances in the 1985 indoor season. In the World Indoor championships at Paris, in a drawn out competition which started on January 18, but was not resolved until the early hours of the following day, Sjoberg won the gold medal with a leap of 2.32m. His next highlight was a world indoor best of 2.38m at Berlin on 22 February, followed by a 2.35m clearance on 2 March to win the European indoor title. In the outdoor season, Sjoberg set a new personal best of 2.38m on 16 June to equal his indoor world best, and then capped off a good year with a win at the World Cup in Canberra on 6 October.

In contrast, Sjoberg had a relatively quiet year in 1986, recording a best jump of 2.34m and finishing a distant sixth at the European Championships with a best jump of 2.25m. Patrik got his 1987 season off to a good start by setting a new world indoor record of 2.41m at Piraeus on 1 February. However, he got a little over confident at the World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis on 7 March where he was the defending champion. Sjoberg elected not to enter the competition until the bar reached 2.32m, and then proceeded to miss all three attempts at that height, resulting in his elimination. In the outdoor season, Sjoberg set a new world record of 2.42m at a Grand Prix meeting in Stockholm on 30 June, clearing on his third attempt. The high jump at the World Championships in Rome that year was one of the best competitions of all time with three men clearing a best height of 2.38m. But of the three, only Sjoberg managed to clear on his first attempt (see photo above), thus earning himself the gold medal. (Ron Casey)

Patrik Sjoberg had spectacular year in 1987, not only winning the gold medal in the high jump at the World Championships, but also setting both indoor and outdoor world records. Despite this record, it was difficult for Patrik, or any of a number of athletes, to maintain a consistent dominance of the event during the 1980's, due to the amount of high quality talent around during that period. Indeed, Sjoberg's two world records had already disappeared by the following year's Olympic Games in Seoul. Firstly, Carlo Thranhardt (West Germany) bettered Patrik's indoor record in February 1988, while Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) established a new world record of 2.43 on 8 September, less than three weeks before the Olympics.

Unfortunately, Sotomayor was prevented from competing at Seoul due to the Cuban boycott, but that did not diminish the quality of the high jump competition, which included five former world record holders (including Sjoberg), as well as Thranhardt, the indoor world record holder. The field in the Olympic final, held on 25 September, was so talented that no less than four athletes, including Sjoberg (see photo above) cleared 2.36m to equal the Olympic record. However, two jumpers had cleared this height on their first attempt, while Sjoberg and Rudolf Povarnitsyn (Soviet Union) had required two attempts, and were lying in equal third place. To secure a medal, Sjoberg needed to jump higher, or, if he failed at the next height of 2.38m, Povarnitsyn needed to as well. They both failed at their first two attempts, before Povarnitsyn, jumping before Sjoberg, failed on his third attempt. With at least a bronze medal safely in his keeping, Patrik also missed his third attempt, and he and Povarnitsyn finished in equal third place. (Ron Casey)