We talk to the emerging British jumps talent, whose focus on consistency has turned him into a potential medal contender at the European Champs in Birmingham.

Kimani Jack might be used to clearing bars in the high jump but, when it comes to mindset, his feet are planted firmly on the ground. The 22-year-old British athlete has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past two years, improving his personal best from 2.15m in 2024 to 2.31m this season. 

Not only has he leapt to joint-eighth on the UK all-time list but he also placed second on his Diamond League debut, with a best clearance of 2.30m, in Monaco. Since the turn of the decade only Tom Gale, who has cleared 2.33m and placed 11th at the Tokyo Olympics, is higher on the UK high jump standings. 

The fact that Jack has also recorded 11 marks over 2.20m this season speaks volumes about his consistency. Given the Shaftesbury and Barnet Harrier is third on the 2026 global high jump rankings behind Ukrainian Oleh Doroshchuk and Czech Jan Stefela – Russia’s Danil Lysenko tops the charts but is banned from international events – there is now talk of him being in contention for major senior medals. 

Does the Briton, then, see this season as a breakthrough year? “I would say so”, he says. “I get a lot of people asking me, ‘Oh, what did you change? What did you do differently to show that your results were improving a lot?’. I haven’t necessarily done anything in that respect. I think it's just a result of hard work over the last three, four, five years and fortunately things have come together. The goal is to improve a lot more. But it's nice to be where I am right now.

“When I'm focusing on being consistent through competitions, I think that's a better representation on improvement rather than ‘okay, can I just jump this personal best one day?’” 

Born into a family of Caribbean heritage in Barnet, Jack was introduced to sport from an early age. He remembers watching the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a four-year-old and, having been hooked by it, saw the London 2012 Games in person. After playing both football and basketball at school, he quickly realised that he could run fast and jump high, so he joined Shaftesbury and Barnet Harriers and soon fell in love with the high jump. 

“I didn't actually start doing the high jump properly until I was 16, which I think is a bit late compared to a lot of people I talk to who do the sport, especially in this country,” he says. “It was always a passion but when I went to the University of Birmingham I was like, ‘okay, this is really what I want to do properly’. That’s where I was having so much fun – not just winning but more enjoying the process of trying to achieve a goal. There are ups and downs, but I just loved the process. I wanted to work hard towards my goals and my dreams. The journey has, so far, been amazing.” 

On top of studying history in Birmingham, Jack won both the indoor and outdoor high jump titles at the BUCS Athletics Championships, before completing a graduate transfer to the University of Georgia last year. Within just one month of his season-opener, he won the Southeastern Conference Track and Field Indoor Championships. Then in June he triumphed at the NCAA Track and Field Championships. 

Jack credits his success to Ryan Baily, who coaches multi-events, pole vault and jumps at the University of Georgia. Even when the high jumper completes his masters in sports business, he intends to train under the watchful eye of Baily in the long-term.  

“Coach Baily treats everyone as individuals because obviously every athlete isn't the same, and he understands that,” Jack explains. “So I'm looking forward to having a really long partnership with him in terms of being a coach and athlete. 

“Everyone talks about the facilities in the US and, while I have loved them, it is the mentality in the group that is the biggest attraction. There’s such a focus on continuing to get better no matter where you are and working as hard as everyone else.” 

That focus has brought some fine performances on the global stage, with Monaco being one of the best examples. Jack beat the likes of Gianmarco Tamberi, JuVaughn Harrison and Mutaz Essa Barshim in the principality, only placing behind Doroshchuk.  

With the high jump being an event that involves a lot of waiting around between attempts, how does Jack cope with the pressure in the heat of the action against Olympic level opposition? 

“I firstly break it down in the warm-up because you can’t get off your guard or get too cold,” he explains. “That’s where I set up my approach, making sure I'm in the space where I want to be. The second thing is my psychology. Here I am focusing on the present and not looking too much into what could happen, but actually making sure I’m looking at what I am doing right now. 

“Then you get into the competition. The first jump can be the most difficult as you're trying to set the precedent for the whole competition. So you might get those butterflies, but you just have to be brave, continue to be confident in the moment, and just set that mark. I start to get comfortable from thereon in. 

“That's where I love to be because, after the first jump, you realise ‘okay cool this is just a normal high jump competition, I do this all the time in training’ and your rhythm  takes over.” 

Jack is acutely aware of the expectations that have arisen from clearing 2.30m on more than one occasion in a season. With the European Athletics Championships fast approaching, there is the possibility that he could be a medal contender on home soil in Birmingham. He has already had a taste representing his country, at last year’s European Team Championships in Madrid, but this would represent another step up. 

“It’s nice being talked about positively but, at the same time, my coach is always telling me it's just external noise,” Jack says. “Focus on your own performance. I am not relying on comparisons when I am competing. 

“I think my transition from junior to senior was very good, and I was fortunate that my first senior representation was a team-based championships because it didn't really feel like I was out there by myself. It’s always been a dream for me to represent my country and I find it both humbling and special.” 

After watching this year’s London Diamond League, Jack bumped into European high jump silver medallist and Commonwealth champion Dalton Grant inside Westfield Shopping Centre. It was quite clear to that Grant, who represented Great Britain at three Olympics and had an overall best of 2.37m, was a fan. “He said congratulations, so I just want to give him a shout out!” Jack says.

With Samuel James improving his best of 2.15m to 2.25m to win the high jump at the European Athletics U18 Championships, Jack isn’t the only rising star coming through the British ranks. Having watched a lot of the action from Rieti, there is excitement in his voice when talking about the future of British high jumping more generally. That enthusiasm originates from Jack’s early days in the sport. 

“This is so special to me because obviously when I first got into it, people didn't really talk much about high jump in the UK that much,” he explains. “You want to do well yourself but you also want the culture of the event in the country to be very positive and to continue to build as well. 

“So when I see others doing great things, number one, it really motivates me to do even better myself and, number two, it makes me happy because you want the competition where you are to be great, as it can only push you forward.”