Erik Kynard


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

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 noticed by his American-themed tube socks. He will likely get gold after the disqualification of Ukhov for doping in 2019.
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.

Major competition record

Personal bests