I love Athletics
Long Jump is my favorite discipline
Long jump, also called broad jump, sport in athletics
(track-and-field) consisting of a horizontal jump for
distance.
The origins of the long jump can be traced to the Olympics in Ancient
Greece, when athletes carried weights in each hand. These were swung
forward on take-off and released in the middle of the jump in a bid to
increase momentum. The long jump, as we know it today, has been part of
the Olympics since the first Games in 1896.
The men’s event has seen some long-standing world records by US jumpers.
Jesse Owens jumped 8.13m in 1935, a distance that was not exceeded until
1960. Bob Beamon flew out to a world record 8.90m in the rarefied air of
Mexico City at the 1968 Olympic Games a mark that remained until Mike
Powell surpassed it with a leap of 8.95m at the 1991 World
Championships. As a winner of four successive Olympic titles – from 1984
to 1996 - Carl Lewis is regarded as the world’s greatest male long
jumper in history. The inaugural women’s Olympic long jump took place in
1948 and athletes from five different regions have struck gold in the
event; Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Oceania.
Learn more about this sport