LONDON, England (AFP) — Russia’s Ivan Ukhov won the Olympic men’s high jump title yesterday with a best of 2.38 metres, the second-best in the world this year.

America’s Erik Kynard took silver with a jump of 2.33m, with the bronze medal shared three ways between Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, Derek Drouin of Canada and Great Britain’s Robbie Grabarz.

The long-haired Ukhov last month cleared 2.39m to win the Russian championships, the highest jump in 2012.

His previous major victories have all come indoors, at the 2010 World Indoor Championships as well as at the 2009 and 2011 European indoors.

One of his previous claims to fame was a huge YouTube hit of him performing in a competition while drunk.

Kynard, a student at Kansas State University, jumped 2.34m to win the NCAA (American collegiate) championships and then qualified for London 2012 at the US Olympic trials.

Beijing 2008 gold medallist Andrey Silnov and 2011 World Champion Jesse Williams of the United States both failed at 2.29m.

Robert Grabarz, who posed for gay magazine Attitude because he wanted to appeal to gay fans, became Britain’s first European high jump champion since 1950 when he won in Helsinki earlier this season.