Gerd Wessig is a former East German high jumper who won the gold medal in the 1980 Summer Olympics, the first man ever to set a world record in the high jump at the Olympics. Gerd Wessig (East Germany) set the men's high jump world record of 2.36 m in Moscow, Soviet Union on August 1, 1980. It stood 2.9 years, until Zhu Jianhua's 2.37 m on June 11, 1983. Wiki link