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The early history of the women’s high jump is more complex than that of most running events, because the first recognised best marks were achieved under very different competitive and technical conditions. Before the establishment of women’s international governing structures, performances were recorded in scattered national meetings, school competitions and gymnastics displays, often with inconsistent reporting and with athletes sometimes clearing a rope or bamboo cane rather than a rigid crossbar. As a result, the pre-federation progression reflects not only athletic improvement, but also the gradual standardisation of the event itself.

This distinction is especially important in the women’s high jump, where the earliest marks belong to a transitional phase between informal exhibition-style competition and the emergence of codified athletics records. Some early clearances were achieved over rope substitutes, while others were recorded under more recognisable high jump conditions with wooden bars. The event’s statistical history before the 1920s must therefore be read with caution, as the conditions of performance were not yet fully uniform from one country to another.

The formation of the FSFI gave the women’s high jump a clearer international framework and allowed the event’s record progression to begin taking a more recognisable modern shape. By the early 1920s, the record had already moved beyond the fragmented experimental phase and into an era of regular international comparison, with athletes such as Sophie Eliott-Lynn, Phyllis Green and others helping establish the first coherent global standard in the event.

High Jump, Women World Record Progression – Data Table

Performance	Athlete	Country	Date	Location	Competition	Notes
2.10	Yaroslava Mahuchick	UKR	7/7/2024	Paris	Diamond League
2.09	Stefka Kostadinova	BUL	30/8/1987	Roma	IAAF World Championships
2.08	Stefka Kostadinova	BUL	31/5/1986	Sofia	Narodna - Mladesh Meeting
2.07	Stefka Kostadinova	BUL	25/5/1986	Sofia	National Meeting
2.07	Lyudmila Andonova	BUL	20/7/1984	Berlin (Ost)	Olympic Day
2.05	Tamara Bykova	URS	22/6/1984	Kiev	Izvestia Cup
2.04	Tamara Bykova	URS	25/8/1983	Pisa	International Meeting
2.03	Ulrike Meyfarth	FRG	21/8/1983	London	European Cup, Final A
2.03	Tamara Bykova	URS	21/8/1983	London	European Cup, Final A
2.02	Ulrike Meyfarth	FRG	8/9/1982	Athina	European Championships
2.01	Sara Simeoni	ITA	31/8/1978	Praha	European Championships
2.01	Sara Simeoni	ITA	4/8/1978	Brescia	International Meeting
1.97	Rosemarie Ackermann	GDR	26/8/1977	Berlin (West)	ISTAF Berlin
2.00	Rosemarie Ackermann	GDR	26/8/1977	Berlin (West)	ISTAF Berlin
1.97	Rosemarie Ackermann	GDR	14/8/1977	Helsinki	European Cup, Final A
1.96	Rosemarie Ackermann	GDR	3/7/1977	Dresden	GDR Championships
1.96	Rosemarie Ackermann	GDR	8/5/1976	Dresden	GDR Cup, preliminary round	nee Witschas
1.95	Rosemarie Witschas	GDR	8/9/1974	Roma	European Championships
1.94	Rosemarie Witschas	GDR	24/8/1974	Berlin (Ost)	National Meeting
1.94	Yordanka Blagoeva	BUL	24/9/1972	Zagreb	Invitation event during men's international match YUG_ESP
1.92	Ulrike Meyfarth	FRG	4/9/1972	M?nchen	The XX Olympic Games
1.92	Ilona Gusenbauer	AUT	4/9/1971	Wien	Sportpressefest
1.91	Iolanda Balas	ROU	16/7/1961	Sofia	International Match BUL-ROM
1.90	Iolanda Balas	ROU	8/7/1961	Budapest	International Meeting
1.88	Iolanda Balas	ROU	18/6/1961	Warszawa	Kusocinski Memorial
1.87	Iolanda Balas	ROU	15/4/1961	Bucuresti	National Meeting
1.86	Iolanda Balas	ROU	10/7/1960	Bucuresti	National Meeting
1.85	Iolanda Balas	ROU	6/6/1960	Bucuresti	Romanian Championships
1.84	Iolanda Balas	ROU	21/9/1959	Bucuresti	Balkan Games
1.83	Iolanda Balas	ROU	18/10/1958	Bucuresti	National Meeting
1.82	Iolanda Balas	ROU	4/10/1958	Bucuresti	National Meeting
1.81	Iolanda Balas	ROU	31/7/1958	Poiana Bra?ov	National Meeting
1.80	Iolanda Balas	ROU	22/6/1958	Cluj	National Meeting
1.78	Iolanda Balas	ROU	7/6/1958	Bucuresti	National Meeting
1.77	Feng-Jung Cheng	CHN	17/11/1957	Beijing	National Meeting
1.76	Iolanda Balas	ROU	13/10/1957	Bucuresti	National Meeting
1.76	Mildred McDaniel	USA	1/12/1956	Melbourne	The XVI Olympic Games
1.75	Iolanda Balas	ROU	14/7/1956	Bucuresti	National Meeting
1.74	Thelma Hopkins	GBR	5/5/1956	Belfast	National Meeting
1.73	Aleksandra Chudina	URS	22/5/1954	Kiev	National Meeting
1.72	Sheila Lerwill	GBR	7/7/1951	London	WAAA Championships
1.71	Fanny Blankers-Koen	NED	30/5/1943	Amsterdam	National Meeting
1.66	Ilsebill Pfenning	SUI	27/7/1941	Lugano	Lugano Regional Championship
1.66	Esther Van Heerden-Brand	RSA	29/3/1941	Stellenbosch	Western Province Championships
1.66	Dorothy Odam-Tyler	GBR	29/5/1939	Brentwood	WAAA Championships	Records set by Germany's Dora Rajen at 1.65 (1937), 1.66 - 1.67 (1938) ere annuled, after she recognised as a man after the European Championships 1938.
1.65	Babe Didrikson	USA	7/8/1932	Los Angeles	The X Olympic Games	First record ratified by the IAAF
1.65	Jean Shiley	USA	7/8/1932	Los Angeles	The X Olympic Games	First record ratified by the IAAF
1.62	Carolina (Lien) Gisolf	NED	12/6/1932	Amsterdam	International Meeting
1.605	Carolina (Lien) Gisolf	HOL	18/8/1929	Maastricht	International Match HOL-BEL
1.595	Ethel Catherwood	CAN	5/8/1928	Amsterdam	The IX Olympic Games
1.58	Carolina (Lien) Gisolf	HOL	3/7/1928	Bruxelles	Meeting
1.58	Ethel Catherwood	CAN	6/9/1926	Regina	Labor Day Sports
1.552	Phyllis Green	GBR	2/8/1926	London	Chiswick Charity Sports
1.524	Phyllis Green	GBR	11/7/1925	London	WAAA Championships
1.485	Sophie Elliott-Lynn	GBR	6/8/1923	Brentwood	Meeting
1.485	Elizabeth Stine	USA	20/5/1923	Leonia	Meeting	The FSFI ratified this mark under the date of 15 April 1925, with the venue Bergen (USA)
1.46	Nancy Vorhees	USA	20/5/1922	Simsbury	Meeting

See also: [Women’s Pole Vault WR Progression][Men’s High Jump Progression]