Team GB's high jumper Robbie Grabarz reveals the secret to his success: 'being lazy'

Team GB high jumper Robbie Grabarz (Getty Images)

High jumper Robbie Grabarz has said that the key to his success has been sleep and the odd shot of vodka.

The Enfield-born European champion, 24, jumped 2.29 metres in qualifying on Sunday, just seven centimetres below his personal best, and put his success down to being “lazy”. He competes in the final tonight and said: “I’m just lazy, it’s simple really. I get warm pretty quickly so I just sleep until five minutes before call times. Then I just go for a jog, a few drills and head out to the competition.

“I usually use my bag as a pillow and if it’s cold I’ll put a sheet over me and lie face down asleep.”

Grabarz, who is 6ft 3in and lives in Birmingham, said he was confident of following in the foosteps of Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford by winning gold: “I’m quite chilled out and I feel good. My form is perfect, I’ve come to the Olympics in really good shape. I’ve come to show the world what I’m made of.”

He said the key to the event was the run-up. “It’s all about posture and hitting your mark. If you get a perfect run-up, you get a perfect jump. You think, ‘I’m over this.’”

Before the Games, the high jumper became a pin-up after posing on the cover of Attitude magazine, with only a Union Jack for modesty. He said: “I don’t mind going naked. I’ll just take my clothes off — it’s great fun.”

Grabarz is also one of the few athletes who partied in the run-up to the Games and has pledged that if he wins in London the party is likely to continue for several days. He said: “I’m proud of my Polish side — I think it’s something innate in me that likes a lot of vodka.”