1972 Olympics
After graduating from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in 1973, Jourdan remained at Gainesville and competed for the Florida Track Club (FTC). Jourdan stood six-feet, one-inch (1.86 meters) tall, and was rail-thin at 150 pounds (68 kilograms). At the 1972 Olympic Trials, held in Eugene, Oregon between June 29 and July 9, Jourdan was one of four members of the FTC to qualify for the Munich Olympics, along with distance runners Frank Shorter, Jack Bacheler and Jeff Galloway. The men's high jump final was held on the last day, and Jourdan began competition at 2.10 (6'-9") and set a personal best of 2.21 (7'-3"), finishing second to Dwight Stones. The top three all jumped 7'-3" on their second attempts, securing their berths to Munich, then failed at 7'-41⁄2" (2.25), with Stones winning by virtue of fewer misses at lower heights. Both Stones (UCLA) and Chris Dunn (Colgate) were younger and taller collegiate jumpers (6'-6" and 6'-5", respectively) and utilized the - then relatively new - Fosbury Flop style, while Jourdan and Reynaldo Brown (who finished fourth) used the classic straight-leg straddle.
While training in Italy immediately prior to the Olympics, Jourdan sustained a leg injury. At the Olympics in September, he did not advance out of the Qualifying Round. He began competition at the low height of 1.90 (6'-3") because of his injury and progressed through 2.00, 2.06, 2.09 and 2.12 all on his first attempts, before missing all three tries at 2.15 (7'-03⁄4"). Jourdan holds the distinction of being the first athlete from the University of Florida to qualify for the Olympics in the sport of track and field (athletics). Track & Field News magazine ("The Bible of the Sport") ranked Jourdan the #2 U.S. high jumper in 1972 (behind Dwight Stones, who won the Bronze medal at Munich with a leap of 7'-3" in the finals).
In 1973, Jourdan gave up his amateur status and continued to compete in the high jump as a professional on tour with the newly created International Track Association (ITA). Despite initial success, the ITA folded within a few years.
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