George Horine

George Horine
Personal information
Full nameGeorge Leslie Horine
BornFebruary 3, 1890 (1890-02-03)
Escondido, California, U.S.
DiedNovember 28, 1948 (1948-11-29) (aged 58)
Merced, California, U.S.
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
SportHigh jump
ClubOlympic Club, San Francisco
Stanford Cardinal, Stanford
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1912 Stockholm High jump

George Leslie Horine (February 3, 1890 – November 28, 1948) was an American athlete who mainly competed in the high jump.[1] He is credited with developing a technique called a forerunner to the western roll, a technique he developed due to the layout of his backyard where he practiced which was considered "backward" at the time. While on the track team at Stanford University, his technique was corrected to the more conventional jumping style of the time. He equalled the NCAA record in the event at 6' 4" as a sophomore. His junior year, 1912, he reverted to his old style, improving to 6' 4 3/4" and then a world record 6' 6 1/8". A few weeks later at the Olympic Trials, he improved again to jump 6' 7" making him the first man to break the 2 metres (6 ft 6.7 in) barrier. It was the first high jump world record ratified by the IAAF. He never improved upon his record, which stood for two years.[2]

  1. ^ "George Horine". Olympedia. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  2. ^ Gary Migdol (1997). Stanford: Home of Champions. Sagamore Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 1571671161.