Spain’s Ruth Beitia won her nation’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in the women’s high jump Saturday night, with fewer missed attempts on the night being the deciding factor in a four-way tie at 6 feet, 5 ½ inches.
Beitia, Bulgaria’s Mirela Demireva, Croatia’s Blanka Vlasic and American Chaunte Lowe all completed successful jumps at that height. But with none being able to go any higher, determining the medal order came down to who had the fewest misses. Beitia had three, followed by Demireva’s four.
While Vlasic had more overall misses (six) than Lowe (five), the fact that she had just one miss at 6 feet, 5 ½ inches to Lowe’s two gave Vlasic the bronze and Lowe fourth.
Lowe was one of three Americans competing in the final, with Inika McPherson finishing tenth and Vashti Cunningham 13th.
