Javier Sotomayor speaks with the press in Barcelona

February 5, 2020

In an interview granted to Spanish journalist Sergio Heredia and published by the La Vanguardia website, 52-year-old Javier Sotomayor is a celebrity in sports; his world record in high jump of 2.45 meters has been standing for 27 years and he set it in Salamanca in 1993.

Sotomayor clarifies to him that: actually, I have been a record holder for 32 years. I did 2.43 m in 1988. Since then I have always held the record. In men's athletics, only 8.95 m by Mike Powell in long jump (1991), 46s78 by Kevin Young in 400m (1992), and several throws (shot put, discus, and hammer) remain standing.

In Cuba, Javier Sotomayor is a personality. At the National Sports Museum of Cuba they placed a bar at 2.45 m. A similar tribute was paid to him in the garden of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne: they raised another bar. And Sotomayor placed another similar one at the door of his house.

Sotomayor comments: "When I jumped it didn't seem so unreal to me. But now it impresses me. It's as high as a soccer goal. Or like a volleyball net. I was jumping a volleyball net!"

In Cuba, Javier Sotomayor is a sports figure, and much more. He founded a salsa orchestra. He named it Salsamayor. The band still exists. Now it's called Maikel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor. The band is composed of 14 musicians and is one of the most outstanding in the country.

And over time he has become an ambassador of the country, a coach who plays the keys of the sports system. He is the general secretary of the Cuban Athletics Federation.

Javier Sotomayor speaks about his childhood. He remembers Limonar, alongside his father, an accountant at a food service company, and alongside his mother, who ran children's centers.

He says he liked to run, especially sprint races, but that his real talent was high jump. He says this is a very mental discipline. It's similar to pole vault. In races, the runner goes and registers a time. The thrower and the long jumper go up to a mark. In high jump, sometimes you can go up to 2.40 m when the bar is at 2.30. And then, equally, you might fail three times at 2.33 m.

He recalls that in 1993, at the Stuttgart World Championships, they placed the bar at 2.40 m. He cleared it easily. According to some studies, he raised his center of gravity to 2.50 m. But of course, that doesn't count. That jump was 2.40 m, and that's that.

He also says they discovered him at 10 years old and took him to a school in Limonar. Children with potential gathered at the School of School Sports Initiation (EIDE).

He was far from his family but: "If you like it, you don't mind the sacrifice. It's what I see now in Jaxier, the third of my five children. He is twelve years old. But he will reach 2 m very soon. Will he continue after? It depends on his desire."