Broom-Edwards unable to defend gold medal in Paralympic high jump

Former Clere School pupil Jonathan Broom-Edwards was unable to defend his Paralympic High Jump title in Paris on Friday morning.

The Men’s T64 High Jump Final got underway just before midday in Paris, following weeks of intense preparation from the double world champion.

Broom-Edwards went first in the order as the defending champion, heading up a field of six athletes at the Stade de France.

He opted to pass on the opening 1.85 jump, instead opting to raise the bar to a height of 1.89 which he cleared on his first attempt.

As his rivals raised the standard to a 1.93, Broom-Edwards chose to pass on this and backed himself to go higher once again.

This gamble would not pay off however, as the 2020 gold medallist failed to clear the bar on two occasions at that height.

Things went from bad to worse, as the bar was raised to 2.00 by the leading jumpers, which he again failed to clear, ensuring a fifth place finish.

That marked the end of Broom-Edwards’ Paralympics, with the emotion of the moment clear to see as he congratulated his fellow competitors and embraced his coaches.

Waiting in the stands was Dan Pembroke, who just a day earlier had won gold in the Men’s Javelin with a world record throw.

Speaking to Channel 4, Pembroke sang the praises of his friend Broom-Edwards

“That guy is a warrior!”, he said.

“There’s a documentary coming out about what he’s been through.

“For him to actually be here is absolutely incredible… one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen.”

The gold medal would be taken by India’s Praveen Kumar, who set a new area record of

2.08, beating America’s Derek Loccident who took silver.

Bronze was shared by Uzbekistan’s Temurbek Giyazov and Poland’s Maciej Lepiato, who both managed 2.03.