His best mark of 2.42 metres ranks him second on the indoor all-time list one-centimetre behind world record holder Javier Sotomayor of Cuba.

The only superior outdoor performances are Sotomayor's world record of 2.45 m, and Mutaz Essa Barshim's clearance of 2.43 m in 2014.

Like all modern high jumpers, Thränhardt used the Fosbury Flop style, but of the 16 men in history to have cleared 2.40 m or higher, he was only the second to do so jumping off his right leg.

Jumping as a masters athlete, Thränhardt set the M55 World Record at 1.87 m at the Flopfest meet in Eberstadt, Germany.

[3] Carlo Thränhardt was firstly a member of ASV Köln, later moving to LG Bayer Leverkusen.