This Day in Track & Field HIstory, August 31, Sara Simeoni clears 2.01 meters, equals WR in high jump (1978)

This Day in Track & Field HIstory, August 31, Sara Simeoni clears 2.01 meters, equals WR in high jump (1978)

 

On August 31, 1978, Italy’s Sara Simeoni soared into the record books and into the hearts of track & field fans around the world when she equaled the women’s high jump world record of 2.01 meters (6 feet, 7 inches) at the European Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Already one of the most consistent jumpers of the decade, Simeoni entered the championships as the reigning Olympic silver medalist (Montreal 1976) and a legitimate contender to challenge the then-world record of 2.01 meters, set a year earlier by East Germany’s Rosemarie Ackermann. The two were set for a showdown, and Simeoni delivered when it mattered most.

Jumping with poise and precision, Simeoni cleared each bar with ease as the competition progressed into rarified heights. With Ackermann having bowed out earlier, the stage was set for Simeoni to go for history.

On her first attempt at 2.01 meters, Simeoni attacked the bar with confidence. She arched perfectly over it, landing to a roar from the crowd inside Prague’s Stadion Evžena Rošického. With that clearance, she equaled Ackermann’s world record and became only the second woman ever to clear the barrier.

It was a defining moment not only for Simeoni but for Italian athletics. Her gold medal was the first by an Italian woman at the European Championships in any track & field event, and her jump tied the highest ever recorded by a female athlete at the time. It also marked the beginning of Simeoni’s reign as the world’s top high jumper, a title she would cement two years later by winning Olympic gold at the 1980 Moscow Games—beating none other than Ackermann in a reverse of their 1976 result.

Simeoni’s 2.01m clearance was more than just a statistical achievement. It was a demonstration of technical mastery, mental resilience, and athletic grace. Jumping in the era of the straddle and the early Fosbury Flop technique transition, Simeoni represented the future of the event, blending classical technique with modern innovation.

The impact of her performance rippled throughout the sport. In an era when Eastern Bloc nations largely dominated women’s track & field, Simeoni’s success stood out as a triumph for Western Europe. She became a national icon in Italy, and her influence helped inspire a new generation of athletes.

Her European title in 1978 would be the first of two consecutive golds at the continental level, and she remained a fixture on international podiums well into the 1980s.

More than four decades later, Sara Simeoni’s 2.01m clearance on August 31, 1978, remains a landmark in the history of women’s high jumping—a moment when preparation, talent, and opportunity came together in perfect harmony.