Hennadiy Valentynovych Avdyeyenko () (born November 4, 1963, in Odessa) is a retired high jumper who represented the USSR and later Ukraine. He trained at the Armed Forces sports society in Odessa under the guidance of Borys Robulets. Great Olympic Encyclopedia, vol.1-2, Moscow:Olympia Press Publisher, 2006, entry on "Авдеенко", available online He won gold medals at both the Olympics and the World Championships.
Career Avdyeyenko entered the 1983 World Championships as an unknown. His personal best was only 2.25 m and he had placed 6th at the main tryout meeting, the 1983 Spartakiad; however, high jump coach Kęstutis Šapka and team coach Igor Ter-Ovanesyan lobbied to have him included in the team. In the World Championship final, up against thirteen athletes with bests of 2.30 m or better, Avdyeyenko improved his personal best by 7 centimetres to win an unexpected gold medal, beating the United States' Tyke Peacock on countback.
Avdyeyenko placed second at the 1987 World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, jumping a new personal best (and Soviet indoor record) of 2.38 m but losing to teammate Igor Paklin in a jump-off. He won another silver medal at the outdoor championships that year, again jumping 2.38 m and tying with Paklin; this time the tie did not have to be broken, as Patrik Sjöberg won on countback and the gold medal was thus not at stake.
Avdyeyenko then won another gold at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, in the absence of Cuba's world record holder Javier Sotomayor, whose country boycotted the Olympics. He jumped 2.38 m yet again, and this time he was the only jumper to clear that height.
Avdyeyenko graduated from Odessa Polytechnic Institute and worked as an expert in refrigerating equipment.
Major achievements YearTournamentVenueResultExtra1983World Championships Helsinki, Finland 1st2.32 PB1987European Indoor Championships Liévin, France 3rdWorld Indoor Championships Indianapolis, United States 2ndWorld Championships Rome, Italy 2nd2.38 PB1988Summer Olympics Seoul, South Korea 1st2.38 equal PB
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