Stepanov started training in the high jump in 1950, aged 17, and by 1954 had a personal best at 1.98 m. In parallel, he competed in the long jump, and in 1956 won a national competition with a decent result of 7.43 m. He was selected for the 1956 Olympics, but was replaced due to a leg injury.[ He was the gold medallist at both the 1957 World University Games and the World Festival of Youth and Students.[1][2] He twice competed at the European Athletics Championships, finishing fifth in 1954 and sixth in 1958.[3]]
In 1957 he set a world record at a Leningrad-Helsinki athletic meet. A close-up photograph taken during the event showed that Stepanov used shoes with thick porous soles that acted as a trampoline. While not forbidden by the rules, the use of such shoes was criticized by the foreign media, but was countered by the Soviets that the thick sole was added merely to reduce the risk of injury. After this event, the thickness of the sole was limited to 12 mm by the IAAF. As a result of excessive media attention to the validity of his results, around 1959 Stepanov developed a depression that resulted in his hospitalization in 1959, alcoholism, divorce in 1961 and suicide in 1963.
See also
- Men's high jump world record progression
References
1. ^WORLD STUDENT GAMES (PRE-UNIVERSIADE). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-11-08.
2. ^World Student Games (UIE). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-11-08.
3. ^European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014 - STATISTICS HANDBOOK. pp. 384-390. European Athletics Association. Retrieved on 2014-11-08.
{{s-start}}{{s-ach|rec}}{{succession box|before=Charles Dumas|title=Men's high jump world record holder|years=13 July 1957– 30 April 1960-04-30|after=John Thomas}}{{s-end}}{{authority control}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepanov, Yuri}} 5 : 1932 births|1963 deaths|Soviet male high jumpers|Soviet male long jumpers|Former world record holders in athletics (track and field)