First 8-foot high jump - The first person to clear the elusive 8-foot high jump barrier was Javier Sotomayor (Cuba; b. 13 Oct 1967) at San Juan, Puerto Rico on 29 Jul 1989. Earlier in the year at Budapest, Hungary, on 4 Mar, he set a world indoor record of 7 ft 11 1/2 in. (Photo: All Sport/Dan Smith)