long jump

Sport

2022

We explain what the long jump is in athletics, its history, rules and ways of measurement. Also, what is the current world record.

The long jump ends on a smoothed sandbar where a footprint is left.

What is the long jump?

The long jump or jump of length is a proof of Athletics which is part of the Olympic Games, both in its feminine and masculine versions. Athletes try to cover the greatest amount of horizontal surface after taking a momentum jump, that is, a jump at the end of a sprint.

The fall is usually smoothed out by a smoothed sandbar, on which the competitors leave their footprints, so that the judges can later measure the distance traveled.

In sport, the long jump is made up of three phases or stages, which make up the technique athletic:

  • The career phase. In which the competitors run at maximum speed a surface of 16 to 20 meters (50 in the Olympic competitions), to take as much of the clean and jerk as possible in preparation for the jump.
  • The impulse phase. In which the athlete tries to push himself, that is, jump vertically, without losing the clean and jerk accumulated during the race, to reach a good speed in the next phase. To do this, a penultimate step is usually taken longer than the rest and a last short step, for the jump.
  • The suspension phase. Also called “flight phase”, it is the stage in which the athlete is in the air, from the jump to its fall in the sand, and in which it will ideally cover a good portion of ground. This phase culminates when the first part of your body touches the I usually, leaving a mark that is considered the point of measurement. However, care must be taken to lean the torso forward, as a hand left behind will delay the mark considered by the judges by centimeters.

Long jump history

The long jump was part of the ancient Olympics from 708 BC.

Long jump has been among the Olympic disciplines since its 1896 Athens edition, that is, since the first modern edition. However, the female version of the long jump was practiced for the first time in history at the 1948 London Olympics.

On the other hand, there is evidence that it was already practiced in the Olympic Games of the Antiquity, from the year 708 a. C., within the test known as pentathlon. Initially, the athletes of antiquity performed the jump with small barbells or weights, which are not used today.

However, the long jump is one of the Olympic disciplines that has changed the least with the passing of the weather. The current technique began to be used in 1925, and its greatest exponent was the North American Hart Hubbart, with a record of 7.89 meters, which took 10 years to be broken by the American Jesse Owens, who reached 8 meters.

Long jump rules

The long jump will be considered void provided that the athlete:

  • Jump after the plate or take-off mark, indicating where the jump should take place.
  • Modify or touch the marks left by his body in the sand.
  • Do cartwheels or pirouettes, or take more time than stipulated.
  • It leaves marks on the surrounding terrain, closer to the take-off area than its own mark on the sand.

Long jump measure

After measuring the distance from the mark, the sand is flattened for the next competitor.

The measurement of the distance traveled is made from the jumping platform, to the nearest edge of the mark left in the sand, whatever part of the body has left it. For this, a tape measure is used, and after the measurement is taken, the sand is flattened again for the next competitor.

Each athlete has three jumps, that is, three different opportunities, of which the best result is taken into consideration. In the event of a tie, the second best attempt will determine the winner.

Long jump without momentum

The long jump without impulse or long jump without impulse is a test similar to the one described so far, which was practiced for the first time in the 1900 Paris Olympics, and remained in force during the following three editions: San Luis 1904, London 1908 and Stockholm 1912, as well as at the Intercalated Games in Athens in 1906.

It was characterized by the same set of rules for running long jump, but in this case the athlete stood in front of the sandbar and had to jump without taking any type of impulse, with his feet together and his body rigid. The big winner in this version was the American Ray Ewry, winner of four gold medals.

Current world record for long jump

Galina Chistiakova has held the women's world record since 1988.

Currently, the world record for long jump belongs to the following athletes:

  • Mike Powell (United States) with 8.95 meters, obtained in Tokyo 1991.
  • Galina Chistiakova (Soviet Union) with 7.52 meters, obtained in Leningrad 1988.
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