AthleticsAthletics world record
Long jump, men
8.95 m
29.36 ft
- Holder
- Mike Powell
- Date
- Place
- Tokyo
- Standing since
- 1991 (35 years)
✓ Value cross-checked in a second source
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How the record evolved
The last record set in each decade, up to the current record (highlighted).
| Year | Record | Holder |
|---|---|---|
| 8.95 m | Mike Powell | |
| 8.90 m | Bob Beamon (USA) | |
| 8.13 m | Jesse Owens (USA) | |
| 7.93 m | Sylvio Cator (HAI) | |
| 7.61 m | Peter O'Connor (IRE) |
Put them in order
Sort these records from the oldest to the most recent.
- 7.93 mSylvio Cator (HAI)
- 8.95 mMike Powell
- 7.61 mPeter O'Connor (IRE)
- 8.90 mBob Beamon (USA)
What to remember
Tokyo, August 30, 1991, World Championships final: American Mike Powell landed at 8.95 m (29 ft 4¼ in), with a tailwind of 0.3 m/s. He went 5 cm past the mark Bob Beamon had set at the 1968 Olympics.
In 1901, the record belonged to Ireland's Peter O'Connor, with 7.61 m. It then passed to Haiti's Sylvio Cator, with 7.93 m in 1928, then to Jesse Owens with 8.13 m in 1935. Beamon's 8.90 m came just before Powell's jump: in 90 years the best mark grew by 17.6%.
The long jump asks for speed, strength and agility to fly from a takeoff point and land as far as possible. Already part of the ancient Olympic Games, it has been a modern Olympic event for men since 1896. Powell won two Olympic silver medals in it and was world champion twice.
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Sources and licences
- Value, holder and date: Wikipedia article “List of world records in athletics” (revision used 1378411308). Data from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo: filip bossuyt from Kortrijk, Belgium, Photo licensed under CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons). Remove this photo.
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