Robert ("Bob") Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is a former American track and field athlete, best known for his long-standing world record in the long jump. Athletics has been contested at every Summer Olympics since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics. ... The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were held in Mexico City in 1968. ... Athletics Medal Winners at the 1968 Munich Olympics See also Olympic Games Summer Olympic Games 1976 Summer Olympics Categories: | | | ... August 29 is the 241st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (242nd in leap years), with 124 days remaining. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. ... A world record is the best performance in a certain discipline, usually a sports event. ... Long jumper at the GE Money Grand Prix in Helsinki, July 2005. ...

Beamon, from Jamaica, New York, set a world record for the long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City with a jump of 8.90 m (29 ft. 2-1/2 in.). His world record stood for 23 years, and was named by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of the five greatest sports moments of the 20th century. 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (117th in leap years). ... Jamaica, now a neighborhood in Queens, New York City, was settled as a town by the English under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland. ... A world record is the best performance in a certain discipline, usually a sports event. ... Long jumper at the GE Money Grand Prix in Helsinki, July 2005. ... The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were held in Mexico City in 1968. ... Nickname: Location of Mexico City in central Mexico Coordinates: Country Mexico Federal entity Federal District Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded (as Tenochtitlan) c. ... The metre (or meter, see spelling differences) is a measure of length. ... The first issue of Sports Illustrated, August 16, 1954, showing Milwaukee Braves star Eddie Mathews at bat in Milwaukee County Stadium. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

So astonishing was this jump that when the announcer called out the distance, Beamon himself collapsed to his knees, placed his hands over his face, and had to be helped to his feet. One journalist called Beamon "the man who saw lightning." Sports journalist Dick Schaap wrote a book about the leap, called "The Perfect Jump." Richard J. Schaap (September 27, 1934 – December 21, 2001) was a 20th century American sportswriter, broadcaster, and the author or co-author of 33 books. ...

Prior to Beamon’s jump, the world record had been broken thirteen times since 1901, with an average increase of 0.06 m (2½ in.) and the largest increase being 0.15 m (6 in.). Beamon’s gold medal mark bettered the existing record by 0.55 m (21-3/4 in.) as he became the first person to reach both 28 and 29 feet. 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

The defending Olympic champion, Lynn Davies of Wales, told Beamon, "You have destroyed this event", and in track and field jargon, a new adjective - Beamonesque - came into use to describe spectacular feats. Reportedly, the then-available optical facilities were not equipped to measure such distance, and therefore manual measuring had to be adopted. Beamon’s record was broken in 1991 when Mike Powell jumped 8.95 m (29 ft. 4-3/8 in.) at the World Championships in Tokyo. Lynn Davies (born May 20, 1942 in Nantymoel, Wales) was captain of the British Olympic long jump team in 1968; he won a gold medal in the event in 1964. ... This article is about the country. ... Michael Anthony Mike Powell (born November 10, 1963) is an American Track and Field athlete. ... The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

While this jump has been lauded by sports fans worldwide, there were significant environmental factors that contributed to this ‘Beamonesque’ mark.^[1] The primary factor was the altitude of Mexico City – 7400 feet. Altitude is of great benefit to events such as the long jump, and never before or since has such an important competition ever been held anywhere near this altitude. Many sprint and jump world records were broken at the 1968 Olympics because of this. Additionally, there was the maximum allowable (for record purposes) 2 meters per second aiding wind on his jump. Add to that, immediately after Beamon’s jump a major rainstorm came down, making it much harder for his competitors to try and match his feat. A perfect confluence of environmental factors to help make this history’s most stunning long jump.

That Beamon surpassed himself can be seen by noting that his next best jump in his career measured 8.33 m (27 ft. 4 in.), and after the gold medal he never again jumped over 8.22 m (26 ft. 11¾ in.). His jump is still the Olympic record.

References

1. ^ Ward -Smith, A.J., (1986) Altitude and wind effects on long jump performance with particular reference to the world record established by Bob Beamon. Journal of Sports Science, 4, 89-99