How High-Jump Tie-Breaks Work Explainer
High-jump standings begin with the greatest height each athlete clears. When two or more athletes finish at the same height, officials first compare the number of failures at that height. The athlete with fewer misses there receives the higher placing.
If the tie remains, officials compare total failures throughout the competition up to and including the last cleared height. Earlier clean rounds therefore matter. Passes are not failures, but three consecutive failed attempts across one or more heights eliminate an athlete from normal competition.
Athletes still tied for a place other than first normally share that placing. A tie for first can proceed to a jump-off unless the relevant rules or athletes' permitted decision resolve it otherwise. The bar starts at the next height after the one the tied athletes last cleared.
In a jump-off, each tied athlete receives one attempt per height. The bar rises when all succeed and falls when all fail, continuing until one athlete clears while the other misses. Scorecards reveal the logic better than the final height alone: circles, crosses, and passes tell the story.
The fewest failures at the highest height cleared.
The total number of failures through the last height cleared.
It is used to resolve a remaining tie for first place under the applicable competition rules.
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