Ivan Ukhov and Aleksey Dmitrik demonstrated the incredible standards men’s high jumping is reaching this winter with brilliant performances at the 38th Arnstadt high jump meeting on Saturday.
This was a glorious moment for meeting director Hubertus Triebel.
The competition’s future remains in doubt as Triebel, 77, is retiring but his hope beforehand was that the barrier of 2.40m would be achieved at his event for the first time.
He was handed his wish in style - not just once, but twice as Russian pair Ukhov and Dmitrik delivered in spectacular fashion as the discipline reached its highest indoor level for five years.
Having already set a world lead of 2.41m in Chelyabinsk last month, Olympic champion Ukhov won here on countback with 2.40m, the same mark as Dmitrik.
Before that jump in Chelyabinsk, not since Ukhov in 2009 had anyone achieved 2.40m indoors - he was the only one to do it that year - and never before have two men gone over 2.40m in the same high jump competition.
Ukhov had first time clearances at 2.24m, 2.30m and 2.36m before achieving 2.40m with his opening jump and then he was close to breaking the world record of 2.43m when he narrowly missed out at 2.44m to the excitement of the sell-out crowd.
Cuban Javier Sotomayor’s mark has stood since 1989, but with the Russians pushing themselves, it is a height which could well go before the indoor season is over.
Dmitrik, the World silver medallist and double European indoor silver medallist, entered the event with a personal best of 2.36m from this competition last year. He broke that in style when he cleared 2.40m at the second attempt.
Dmitrik was not done and had three fine efforts at 2.42m but just failed to break Ukhov's national record.
Behind this duo, personal bests were flowing.
Third was another Russian, Lev Missirov, who achieved a new all-time mark of 2.33m while Italy’s Marco Fassinotti equalled the national record as he cleared the same height.
It was quite an event, too, for Kamila Licwinko in the women’s competition as she broke the Polish record, first with 1.97m and then with 2.00m, to triumph ahead of France’s Marie-Laurence Jungfleisch, second with a personal best of 1.97m. Nadezhda Dusanova, of Uzbekistan, and Sweden’s Emma Green Tregaro, tied for third on 1.94m with Spain’s European champion Ruth Beitia fifth on countback with the same height.