Hennadiy Valentynovych Avdyeyenko (Ukrainian:Геннадій Валентинович Авдєєнко) (born November 4, 1963, inOdessa) is a retiredhigh jumper who represented theUSSR and laterUkraine. He trained at theArmed Forces sports society in Odessa.[1] He won gold medals at both theOlympics and theWorld Championships.
Avdyeyenko entered the1983 World Championships as an unknown. His personal best was only 2.25 m and he had placed 6th at the main tryout meeting, the 1983Spartakiad; however, high jump coachKęstutis Šapka and team coachIgor Ter-Ovanesyan lobbied to have him included in the team.[2] In theWorld Championship final, up against thirteen athletes with bests of 2.30 m or better, Avdyeyenko improved his personal best by 7 centimetres to win an unexpected gold medal, beating theUnited States'Tyke Peacock on countback.[2]
Avdyeyenko placed second at the1987 World Indoor Championships inIndianapolis, jumping a new personal best (and Soviet indoor record) of 2.38 m but losing to teammateIgor Paklin in a jump-off.[3][4] He won another silver medal at theoutdoor championships that year, again jumping 2.38 m and tying with Paklin; this time the tie did not have to be broken, asPatrik Sjöberg won on countback and the gold medal was thus not at stake.[5]
Avdyeyenko then won another gold at the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul, in the absence ofCuba'sworld record holderJavier Sotomayor, whose countryboycotted the Olympics.[6] He jumped 2.38 m yet again, and this time he was the only jumper to clear that height.[6]
Avdyeyenko graduated fromOdessa Polytechnic Institute and worked as an expert inrefrigerating equipment.[1]
| Year | Tournament | Venue | Result | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki,Finland | 1st | 2.32 PB |
| 1987 | European Indoor Championships | Liévin,France | 3rd | |
| World Indoor Championships | Indianapolis,United States | 2nd | ||
| World Championships | Rome,Italy | 2nd | 2.38 PB | |
| 1988 | Summer Olympics | Seoul,South Korea | 1st | 2.38 equal PB |
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