Bohdan Bondarenko

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Created 31 July 2013

Bohdan BONDARENKO, Ukraine (High Jump)

Born: 30 August 1989, Kharkiv

Height: 1.97m

Weight: 77kg

Lives: Kharkiv

Club: Dynamo

Coach: Viktor Bondarenko

He dreams to have his personal island and BMW3 Grand Tourismo car and smiles “It would be more than enough to add to these dreams High Jump World Record over 2.46 or 2.50m”. His athletics motto sounds little bit strange. “It’s much better to overeat than not have enough sleep”. But at least all extraordinary persons have bit different thoughts, habits and aspirations.

Bohdan Bondarenko was born in a sports family. His father Viktor is a former decathlete with a 7500 PB and 2.16m result in High Jump. Although Bondarenko Sr. worked as coach in athletics, young Bohdan took a great interesting in folk dance and turned in to his father’s footsteps only at the age of 13. He joined Yevgeniy Nikitin’s group and after 2 mounts of training cleared 1.55m in High Jump. Tall Bohdan had a great progression in this discipline and in 2004 he jumped over 2m and one year later Bondarenko already represented Ukraine at the European Youth Olympic Festival, in Lignano, where he became an unexpected silver medallist with a 2.12m PB.

In 2006, Bondarenko progressed to another level of results. On 10 January  he set the indoor national youth record, clearing 2.21m and caught courage when he became the clear leader among young Ukrainian athletes. In summer he won Gymnasiade in Thessaloniki, with new competition record of 2.20m  and 20 days later competed at the senior National championships for the first time in his career. He was only a 16-year-old when took silver among adult jumpers, showed outstanding fighting spirit and achieved a 2.25 PB. Seeing his talent and fighting qualities, coaches decided to put his name into the National team’s list to World Junior Championships in Beijing.

“It was my first ‘test’ at so high international level” Bondarenko says. “I didn’t expect some super achievements in Beijing and made very many attempts on the way to my new personal best 2.26m  but I didn’t give up and fought till the final jump. After I finished 3rd at my first Junior Worlds I understood that I can jump much higher”.

The gifted athlete was spotted by athlete’s representative Aivar Karotamm and they started their teamwork from August 2006. Winter season 2007 was very promising as Bohdan brought up his indoor record to 2.25. But injuries started to pursue him very often. Feet, groins, knees… He wanted to miss the summer season but agreed to help the Ukrainian team at the European Junior championships in Hengelo where he was able to clear 2.14m in the final and finished 9th only. Bondarenko tried to find the causes of his problems. He asked his coach to revise their training plans, but after some discords in their vision of future practices, Bohdan decided to end his collaboration with Yevgeniy Nikitin and change coach. At the end of summer 2007 Bondarenko moved to the group of his father.

Knee injury didn’t allow him to make elementary technical exercises. Before the 2008 World Junior championships Bondarenko had very few jumping trainings but he went to Bydgoszcz aiming to get a medal. “I felt very strong physically, but I wasn’t sure that my injured knee will stand the test by high competitions loadings. Moreover, I was depressed by fact that my results didn’t improve during the year. In Bydgoszcz I felt like a walker on the razor's edge. I tried to use minimum attempts as I knew each of my jump could become the last one. That is why I was extremely glad when I jumped 2.26 and won on grit at my second Junior Worlds,” Bondarenko says.

After successful treatment and a little rest, Bondarenko had a long preparation period to the winter season 2009. He felt much better and stronger than the previous summer, but at the end of November he sprained his ankle and had to put his leg in a plaster. “I didn’t want to use crutches and moved everywhere jumping on the take-off leg,” Bohdan explains. “Nothing so bad, as not to be good for something. Jumping all the days I trained my take-off leg perfectly. As a result I set my indoor personal best straight away at my first indoor meeting in Lodz clearing 2.27. But when I agreed to perform at the European Indoor Championships in Torino, I made my biggest mistake.”

In Torino, Bondarenko went through the qualifications and jumped easily 2.27, but in final he was able to clear 2.20 only because of strong pain in the foot. Half of the year he trained and competed being injured. Bohdan has achieved 2.15m at 8 of the 9 meetings he competed that summer. He was utterly exhausted, physically and mentally.

“My manager organised for me medical examination in Finland,” Bondarenko says. “Results were deplorable. Ligaments of my take-off foot were broken and there were many painful new growths in another foot. So in October I had my first surgery on the take-off foot and one and half months later I was operated on a second time on both feet.”

Bondarenko had his first training after surgery in April 2010. It was a very short jog, from which Bohdan began the second part of his athletics career. All the year he trained in a special leather boot, with plastic strengthening keeping his foot more or less fixed. He even contrived to compete in this boot at the National Universiade on 15 October and cleared 2.10m in Yalta, but the pain was stronger than before. Bondarenko gave his up to despair and even thought about retirement, but he knew he had to repay for his surgeries.

On January 2011, Bohdan came back to the competition field and cleared 2.20 at the Kharkiv Region’s Cup, but felt new pain in the foot, which was diagnosed as a result of inadequate loadings. More than 2 months he was the permanent client of different doctors, making numerous X-rays, Radiographies, scans and treatments. At last the immovable foot ossified and Bohdan had to make a shock action course and postpone the start of his trainings for one month more. In spring training camps 2011, Bondarenko just recovered making strengthening exercises. At the end of April he began usual practices but tore slightly the hamstring jumping from the ‘wing’ leg.

“It really was too much” Bondarenko sums up. “I already didn’t remember the time when I was fully healthy and could jump free of pain. I wanted to prepare for the summer season 2011, as I knew it was the last year I could compete in U23 category. With great difficulty I have achieved standard for the European U23 Championships, jumped over 2.26 in Reims just 10 days before the Ostrava events. As I still felt a little pain I didn’t have jumping practices and perfected my technical skills at different meetings only.”

At the European U23 Championships in Ostrava, Bondarenko made unbelievable things. After such a long break full of treatments and pain, he not only took first place but set a new Personal Best clearing 2.30. He was sure that was his ticket to the World Championships, but the head coach of the Ukrainian team set him an indispensable condition: “If you want to go to Daegu, you must win the National Championships.” And Bondarenko did it, and achieved 2.28 in Donetsk on 4 August . 12 days later he won the World University Games in Shenzhen, repeated his victorious results from the Nationals. And again… 12 days later Bohdan performed in the qualification round of the World Championships in South Korea.

“I had no time for recovering and it was too silly to hope for any solid result in Daegu,” Bondarenko says. “Moreover I fell from a bicycle in the athletes’ village and injured my Achilles. Thank God it wasn’t the take-off leg so I could jump, though I felt the pain during all the competitions. As a result my jump over 2.28 was not enough to make the final. Another year in my career passed ingloriously.”   

Bondarenko spent all of the year 2012 battling injuries. He achieved the Olympic A standard (2.31) on 17 June at a small high jump meeting in Mykolaiv competing with strong pain in the take-off foot. But he was an absolute disaster at the European Championships in Helsinki, where he jumped 2.23 in qualification and only 2.15 in the final.

“I decided to withdraw from all competitions till the London Olympics and treated the foot by all possible and impossible methods. Unfortunately, after 1,5 months of treatment I came to London still feeling the pain,” Bondarenko states. “Despite Although 2.26 was enough to achieve the Olympic final I felt terrible. My foot was burning! Unfortunately our team doctor had to be in hospital with another athlete and I remained alone with my injury problem. I just put a hot plaster with snake venom and waited for the final.”

The changeable London weather gave Bohdan another great experience. He had never competed under the rain before the London Olympic final and faced in the field another problem. His run-up cardinally changed because of the wet surface and Bogdan had to fight not only with pain and rivals, but with the uncomfortable technical feeling. That is why he was so glad to clear 2.29m and to take 7th place in the London final.

After 2 months’ rest Bondarenko started his preparation for the next year season aiming for indoor performances. His first training camp outside the Ukraine was fantastic! “I never had such training conditions like in Portugal and I worked there with double inspiration. We laid the great foundation for future technical practices, but all our plans were ruined at the beginning of January, when I tried to jump over 2.29 at Kharkiv Indoor Cup. Pain in the foot appeared again so suddenly and strongly, like a first tsunami wave and I began treatment again,” Bondarenko says.

Bohdan resumed his preparation in March only and opened his summer season 2013 with victory at the Doha Diamond league events, clearing his PB 2.33m. “I was very surprised,” Bondarenko says. “I had two pre-season training camps in Yevpatoriya where I injured my take-off knee at the end of April. I was able to make only one technical practice one week before my first season performance. Moreover, in Doha I felt discomfort not only in the knee, but also in the feet I have operated in 2009. Weak pain accompanied me on all attempts, but such physical conditions became usual for me during last three years.”

Nevertheless Bondarenko repeated 2.33 one week late at the Shanghai Diamond League event and then won all meeting where he performed, including the European Team championships in Gateshead on 22 June. At the Lausanne Diamond League meeting, Bohdan set a new national record 2.41 (the previous one belonged to former WR-holder Rudolf Povarnitsyn from August 1985) and became world leader. He also tried to break the WR at the Swiss meeting and his second attempt on 2.46m was very close to being successful. On 26 July he repeated his desperate attempt to break the WR again at the London Diamond League event, but that time he tried to jump over 2.47m.

“I still feel a little pain in the hip after being injured at the training camp in April, that is why I don’t work under the technique during the trainings,” Bondarenko said before the World Championships in Moscow. “This season I make my jumping practices at competitions only. But I train much more than previous years and don’t intend to make any changes in my preparation. I enjoy my jumps now and take pleasure from all competitions and I want to keep these feelings as long as possible.”

Bohdan Bondarenko is a student in Kharkiv National Institute of Sports and Physical Culture. His younger brother Roman (1995 year of birth) is also a high jumper but with a modest PB 2.00.

Personal Best

High Jump: 2.41 (2013)

Yearly Progression

High Jump (outdoors/indoors): 2005: 2.15/2.05i; 2006: 2.26/2.21i; 2007: 2.19/2.25i; 2008: 2.26/-; 2009: 2.15/2.27i; 2010: 2.10/-; 2011: 2.30/2.20i; 2012: 2.31/2.25i; 2013: 2.41/2.26i

 Career Highlights

Prepared by Liudmyla Iakusheva for the IAAF ‘Focus on Athletes’ project. Copyright IAAF 2013.