Long Jump Olympic Stadium

AUG 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Take-off board: Wood or aluminium. Foot should land flat

Take-off line: No-jump recorded if crossed

Plasticine: Shows foot indent if jump is foul 

20cm

London Olympics long jump gold medallist Greg Rutherford (GBR)

Approach: Athlete aims for top speed during 20-23-stride approach. Elite jumpers usually leave ground at angle of 20 degrees or less – velocity is most important component of jump

20°

Take-off: Penultimate stride lengthens – hips dip then rise forward and up, converting horizontal velocity to vertical force

Hitchkick: Strides during flight counteract forward rotation of body

Landing: Feet as far from hips as possible

Olympic record

Bob Beamon (USA) Mexico, 1968 8.90m 

Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) Seoul, 1988 7.40m

World record

Mike Powell (USA) Tokyo, 1991 8.95m

Galina Chistyakova (URS) Leningrad, 1988 7.52m

Sources: Rio 2016, Olympic.org, IAAF

Pictures: Associated Press

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