site.btaTihomir Ivanov Advances to High Jump Finals at 2024 Paris Olympics

Bulgaria's Tihomir Ivanov qualified for the men’s high jump finals at the athletics tournament of the 2024 Paris Games on Wednesday. The 30-year-old athlete cleared 2.24 m, finishing 12th in the qualifiers, which was the final position that allowed advancement. He cleared 2.15 m on his first attempt, then successfully cleared 2.20 m and 2.24 m on his second attempt. Although he failed to clear 2.27 m, he still managed to reach the finals.

The athlete from Pleven, Northwestern Bulgaria, secured a spot in his second Olympic finals in his third appearance at the Games. He had previously finished tenth in his debut at Rio 2016. Ivanov, a six-time Balkan champion with three indoor and three outdoor titles, achieved a personal best of 2.31 m in August 2017. In May 2024, he reached his best performance in three years, jumping 2.26 m at a tournament in Limassol, Cyprus.

Athletes did not need to jump the qualifying standard of 2.29 m, as 2.27 m proved sufficient to advance. Five athletes cleared 2.27 m. The two biggest high jump stars, Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, who tied with a jump of 2.37 m at Tokyo 2020, both advanced. The finals are scheduled for August 10.

Ivanov was the sole Bulgarian athlete among five to advance past the qualifications at the 2024 Paris Games. Before Ivanov qualified for the finals, Mirela Demireva in the high jump, Gabriela Petrova in the triple jump, and both Bozhidar Sarâboyukov and Plamena Mitkova in the long jump, failed to reach their event finals.