long jump - History, The last two strides, Takeoff, Action in the air and landing, Training, Top 10 performers

An athletics field event in which the competitors leap for distance into a sandpit after running up to a take-off board. The contestant having the longest fair jump, measured from the farthest edge of the take-off board to the pit, is the winner. A jump from beyond the take-off board is a foul. It is sometimes called the running broad jump. The current world record for men is 8·95 m/29 ft 4¼ in, achieved by Mike Powell (1963 ) of the USA, in 1991 at Tokyo; for women is 7·52 m/24 ft 8¼ in, achieved by Galina Chistyakova (1962 ) of the USSR, in 1988 at St Petersburg, Russia.

The long jump (formerly called "broad jump") is an athletics (track and field) event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to land as far from the take-off point as possible.

Competitors sprint down a runway (usually coated with the same rubberized surface as running tracks, crumb rubber or vulcanized rubber) and jump as far as they can off of a wooden board into a pit filled with fine gravel or sand.

The exact format of the competition varies, but generally each competitor will get a set number of attempts to make his or her longest jump, and only the longest legal jump counts towards the results.

There are four main components of the long jump: the approach run, the last two strides, takeoff, and action in the air and landing.

The long jump is also notable for two of the longest-standing world records in any track and field event.

History

The long jump was one of the events of the original Olympics in Ancient Greece.

The long jump has been part of modern Olympic competition since the inception of the Games in 1896.

The last two strides

The objective of the last two strides is to effectively prepare the body for takeoff while conserving as much speed as possible.

The last two strides are an extremely important phase of the jump, as they ultimately determine the velocity with which the competitor will be entering into the jump.

Takeoff

The objective of the takeoff is to create a vertical impulse through the athlete’s center of gravity while maintaining balance and control.

This phase is one of the most technical parts of the long jump. Jumpers must be conscious to place the foot flat on the ground, because jumping off either the heels or the toes will have negative effects on the jump.

There are four main styles of takeoff: the kick style, double-arm style, sprint takeoff, and the power sprint of bounding takeoff.

Kick

The kick style takeoff is a style of takeoff where the athlete actively cycles the leg before a full impulse has been directed into the board.

Double-arm

The double-arm style of takeoff works by moving both arms in a vertical direction as the competitor takes off.

Sprint

The sprint takeoff is the style most widely instructed by coaching staff.

Power sprint or bounding

The power sprint takeoff, or bounding takeoff, is arguably one of the most effective styles.

The “correct” style of takeoff will vary from athlete to athlete.

Action in the air and landing

The objective of this phase is to counteract the natural forward rotation of the body from takeoff while maintaining an effective landing position.

Sail

The sail technique is one of the most basic long jump techniques practiced by competitors.

Training

The long jump generally requires training in a variety of areas.

Jumping

Long Jumpers tend to practice jumping 2-3 times a week.

Over-distance running

Over-distance running workouts allow an athlete to work at distances greater than those at which he or she must compete.

Bounding

Bounding is any kind of continuous and repetitive jumping or leaping.

Flexibility

Flexibility is an all-too-often forgotten tool for long jumpers.

A common tool in many long jump workouts is the use of video taping.

Training style, duration, and intensity will vary immensely from athlete to athlete based on both the experience and strength of the athlete as well as on coaching style.

Top 10 performers

Accurate as of September 10th, 2006.

Men

Mark*	Wind**	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
8.95	0.3	Mike Powell	United States	Tokyo	August 30, 1991
8.90A	2.0	Bob Beamon	United States	Mexico City	October 18, 1968
8.87	-0.2	Carl Lewis	United States	Tokyo	August 30, 1991
8.86A	1.9	Robert Emmiyan	USSR / Armenia	Tsakhkadzor	May 22, 1987
8.74	1.4	Larry Myricks	United States	Indianapolis	July 18, 1988
8.74A	2.0	Erick Walder	United States	El Paso	April 2, 1994
8.71	1.9	Iván Pedroso	Cuba	Salamanca	July 18, 1995
8.63	0.5	Kareem Streete-Thompson	United States / Cayman Islands	Linz	July 4, 1994
8.62	0.7	James Beckford	Jamaica	Orlando	April 5, 1997
8.60	0.5	Dwight Phillips	United States	Linz	August 2, 2004

(meters/second)

Women

Mark*	Wind**	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
7.52	1.4	Galina Chistyakova	USSR / Russia	Leningrad	June 11, 1988
7.49	1.3	Jackie Joyner-Kersee	United States	New York	May 22, 1994
7.48	0.4	Heike Drechsler	East Germany / Germany	Lausanne	July 8, 1992
7.43	1.4	Anişoara Stanciu	Romania	Bucharest	June 4, 1983
7.42	2.0	Tatyana Kotova	Russia	Annecy	June 23, 2002
7.39	0.5	Yelena Belevskaya	USSR / Belarus	Bryansk	July 18, 1987
7.37	N/A	Inessa Kravets	USSR / Ukraine	Kiev	June 11, 1988
7.33	0.4	Tatyana Lebedeva	Russia	Tula	July 31, 2004
7.31	1.5	Yelena Khlopotnova	USSR / Ukraine	Alma Ata	September 12, 1985
7.31	-0.1	Marion Jones	United States	Zürich	August 12, 1998