Sotomayor Flies Low in High Jump : Cuban’s 7-8 1/2 Still Enough for a Victory, Stadium Record

Javier Sotomayor said that he would rather not be around to see someone break the eight-foot mark he set in the high jump last weekend, and he didn’t have to worry about it Sunday, when even he was unable to come within two inches of the height.

A native of Limonar, Cuba, Sotomayor cleared eight feet nine days ago at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Sotomayor, 21, fell short of his record jump but set a Drake Stadium record of 7-8 1/2 in the Jack in the Box Invitational at UCLA.

“I did not have my concentration today. I was not that stimulated and was not up for the meet today, “ Sotomayor said. “The wind was not favorable to my jumping. I do not like to jump with or against the wind.”

Although he denied feeling any letdown over his performance, claiming he was only tired, Sotomayor seemed irritated and upset during a press conference immediately after the event.

“You shouldn’t expect me to break the world record all the time,” he said. “I haven’t thought about how high I can go, but I only do 7-10 1/4 about once or twice a year, and eight feet is not something I can be expected to do often.”

When asked if a $500,000 prize (the amount promised in this meet for a world record in the long jump) would have improved his performance, Sotomayor replied: “No difference, I don’t compete for the money.”

In what seemed to be an excellent start, Sotomayor easily cleared heights from 7-2 1/2 through 7-8 1/2, narrowing his competition from four athletes to one, Hollis Conway, in the process.

Sotomayor’s problems began when Conway, the American record holder, failed to clear the 7-8 1/2 mark in three attempts. Although some critics has said that Sotomayor does not always jump well against strong competition, his world record performance was partially inspired by Sweden’s Patrick Sjoberg, who missed an attempt at eight feet in New York while Sotomayor looked on.

“It would have helped if Conway had remained in the competition longer. I look forward to competing against anyone, not just one specific competitor,” Sotomayor said.

Conway, of Shreveport, La., set the American high jump record of 7-10 1/2 last weekend at the U.S. Olympic Festival in Oklahoma City.

“I felt a little sluggish and my takeoff mark was all over the place. I couldn’t figure the conditions, but my approach was the main problem. I’ve been struggling with it all year,” Conway said. “It’s hard to change your approach in the middle of the season, but I’ll work on it in the off-season.”

Asked his reaction to Sotomayor’s record-setting jump, Conway said: “I kind of figured he’d do it. I’ve seen film of it, he’s just jumping phenomenal, and I figured it’d be a matter of time. I was hoping I could get there first, but right now I’m not at the stage he’s at. I’m not as strong as he is. I’m impressed, I’m really impressed with his jump but I still wish that I’d have been the first one to jump eight feet.”