Czechia’s Jan Štefela won bronze in the men’s high jump at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Tuesday (16), adding another major medal to the silver he won at the Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
In a hard-fought competition, Štefela cleared 2.31m at the second attempt, before failing at 2.34m to just edge out Ukraine’s European indoor champion Oleh Dorushchuk for a podium position on countback. It is Czechia's first medal of Tokyo 2025.
New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr added the world title to the Olympic crown he won last year by clearing 2.36m, with South Korea’s World indoor champion Woo Sang-hyeok taking silver with a best clearance of 2.34m.
Štefela thrilled with medal
"I have already forgotten the whole competition. But the most important thing is that I have this medal," he said afterwards.
"It was tough because I had to jump 2.28m on the third attempt and it reminded me of Apeldoorn (European Athletics Indoor Championships), where I had to save myself with the last attempt too.
"But I felt confident here that I was able to jump it. I thought I could then jump 2.31m on my first try, but that jump did not fit me well. In the end, who cares? The medal is home and that is the most important thing. My head now is free. This is the end of the season for me and I believe I did not shame myself. Now, trust me, I will celebrate it heavily."
