Erik Kynard Jr. (born February 3, 1991) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the high jump. In his Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as a 21-year-old, he won a silver medal in the men's high jump. His silver medal was upgraded to gold in 2021 upon the disqualification of original champion Ivan Ukhov from Russia for doping.

Kynard was born in 1991, the son of Erik Kynard and Brandynn Adams. He is one of 10 children. He is a 2009 graduate of Rogers High School in Toledo, Ohio, and a graduate of Kansas State University where he trained under Cliff Rovelto. He jumps off his right leg.

At 17 years old, Kynard qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2008 but did not make the team. Kynard was the 2011 and 2012 NCAA outdoor national champion in the high jump.

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, Kynard made the Olympic team by placing second behind Jamie Nieto with a height of 2.28 m. At the Olympics, Kynard won silver behind Russian Ivan Ukhov with a height of 2.33 m, the first major international medal of his career. Ukhov won the competition with a height of 2.38 m. Throughout the high jump competition, Kynard was notable for his American-themed tube socks.

In February 2019, it was announced that all of Ivan Ukhov's results from 16 July 2012 to 31 December 2015 were being disqualified for doping, making Eric Kynard the rightful recipient of the 2012 gold medal.

At the start of the 2013 outdoor season, he cleared a world-leading mark of 2.34 m at the Mt SAC Relays. He won the high jump title at the United States Outdoor National Championships in 2014 and 2015; in the latter he tied his personal best, and the meet record, of 2.37m (7' 9-1/4").

In January 2022, while unofficially retired, Kynard accepted a six-month ban from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for receiving an IV infusion of saline solution with no prohibited substances without a therapeutic use exemption.

On August 9, 2024, Kynard received his upgraded gold medal from the 2012 London Summer Olympics in a medal reallocation ceremony held at the Champions Park of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. When asked by a reporter if the day had made him feel “whole", he responded:

“I would not sum it up as making me whole for what I lost...It's like I told a joke 12 years ago, and the world just now is starting to get it.”

Major competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing the United States
2008World Junior ChampionshipsBydgoszcz, Poland19th (q)High jump2.10 m
2009Pan American Junior ChampionshipsPort of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago2ndHigh jump2.10 m
2011World ChampionshipsDaegu, South Korea14th (q)High jump2.28 m
UniversiadeShenzhen, China13thHigh jump2.15 m
2012Olympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom1stHigh jump2.33 m
2013World ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia5thHigh jump2.32 m
2014World Indoor ChampionshipsSopot, Poland3rdHigh jump2.34 m
2015World ChampionshipsBeijing, China8thHigh jump2.25 m
2016World Indoor ChampionshipsPortland, United States3rdHigh jump2.33 m
Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil6thHigh jump2.33 m
2017World ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom–High jumpNM
2018World Indoor ChampionshipsBirmingham, United Kingdom4thHigh jump2.29 m

Personal bests

EventBest (m)VenueDate
High jump (outdoor)2.37Lausanne, SwitzerlandJune 4, 2013
High jump (indoor)2.34BirminghamFebruary 15, 2014
  • All information taken from IAAF profile.

External links