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Athletics - Long Jump

Long Jump

The long jump used to be known as the broad jump and without doubt is one of the oldest track and field events for both men and women.

Athletes compete in this event to see which of them can jump the furthest from a running start. A technically demanding sport. It has been part of every modern olympic games although starting out as a men only event women were allowed to compete in the 1948 London Olympics.

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Some Basic Long Jump Info

The long jump pit is at least 10m (33ft) in length and is filled with sand which is moistened, After every jump the surface is smoothed over with a rake to the same level as the runway. The runway is made of cinders or synthetic material, should be no less than 40m (131ft) long although the usual length is 45m (147ft 6in) between the runway and the pit is the take off board this is 8in wide to the front of which the judges may and usually do place a strip of plasticine, soft earth or sand, that will show if the jumpers foot was on the ground beyond the take off limit.

Athletes may tread on the take off board but they must not allow any part of their feet to go over its farthest edge called the scratch line, if they do the jump is invalid a legal jump will be indicated by the raising of a white flag a foul jump will be indicated by a red flag. Each competitor will have three attempts unless there are fewer than eight competitors in which case they will have six attempts in high level events there are usually two knock out rounds, then the top eight will contest a final. The winner is the athlete who has the longest valid jump in the event of a tie the second best jumps or trials as they are known are taken into consideration.

The five crucial elements to a long jump are a fast approach, a well measured last two strides, an explosive take off, a long flight and a well balanced landing. Lots of top quality sprinters are usually long jumpers as well. There are three types of jump the hitch kick, the hang and the sail.

World records are hard to break at this sport Bob Beamon's record stood for 23 years, Carl Lewis was considered by many to be the best jumper of all time having won 4 Olympic gold medals from 1984 to 1996.