SALAMANCA, Spain, July 27— Javier Sotomayor of Cuba bettered his world record in the high jump today with a leap of 8 feet 1/2 inch at the Salamanca Invitational track meet.
His set the previous record of 8-0 on July 29, 1989 in San Juan, P.R. "This record could last several more years," Sotomayor said.
He was also the high-jump gold medalist at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
The bar teetered but stayed up on his second attempt, and Sotomayor leaped up from the pit to be mobbed by excited athletes.
"I wanted to set the record here because it's a small city in which I feel like I'm in Cuba," he said. "The people recognize me in the street and ask how I'm doing, the children surround me and I find myself in a good mental state."
Mike Powell, an American and the world-record holder in the long jump, took first place in his specialty with a leap of 28-6 1/2, longest in the world this year.
"I want to jump nine meters this year and I thought I could do it in Salamanca, but records aren't easy," Powell said. A 9-meter jump would convert to 29 feet 6 1/2 inches, 2 inches beyond his current world record, set at the world championships in 1991, and a foot longer than today's winning leap.
"I'm very happy with my performance at this meet," he added.
Ivan Pedroso of Cuba took second with a leap of 27-1 3/4.
Jason Hendrix of the United States won the men's 200 meters in 20.47 seconds. Meredith Rainey, another American, took top honors in the women's 800 meters in 2:01.96. Maite Zuniga of Spain was second in 2:03.52, and Shola Lynch of the United States was third at 2:04.92.
Other Cuban winners included Maritza Marten in the women's discus throw, Roberto Moya in the men's discus, Aliuska Lopez in the women's 100 hurdles and Emilio Valle in the men's 110 hurdles.
Photo: Javier Sotomayor of Cuba setting a world record of 8 feet 1/2 inch in the high jump. (Reuters)
