The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a group are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". This event has a history in the ancient Olympic Games and has been a modern Olympic event for men since the first Olympics in 1896 and for women since 1948.
Ralph Harold Boston was an American track athlete who received three Olympic medals and became the first person to break the 27 feet (8.2 m) barrier in the long jump.
The men's triple jump was one of four men's jumping events on the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 16 October 1964. 36 athletes from 23 nations entered, with 2 not starting in the qualification round. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Józef Szmidt of Poland, the third man to repeat as Olympic champion in the triple jump. Just as in 1960, the Soviet Union took silver and bronze behind Szmidt.
The men's high jump was one of four men's jumping events on the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. Qualification was held on October 20, 1964, with the final on October 21. 29 athletes from 20 nations entered, with 1 not starting in the qualification round. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Valeriy Brumel of the Soviet Union, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's high jump. Brumel, who had earned silver in 1960, and American John Thomas, who had previously taken bronze in 1960 and now won silver, became the first two men to win multiple medals in the Olympic high jump. John Rambo, also of the United States, won bronze to complete the podium.
At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, 36 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 12 for women. There were a total number of 1031 participating athletes from 93 countries.
Igor Aramovich Ter-Ovanesyan is a Soviet and Ukrainian former long jumper and coach, of Armenian descent. Competing for the Soviet Union, he was a five-time European and two-time Olympic medalist in this event. In 1985, he was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honour.
The men's long jump was an event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There were 50 participating athletes from 37 nations, with two qualifying groups. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at three since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 3 cm by Carl Lewis of the United States, the nation's third consecutive and 19th overall gold medal in the men's long jump. Lewis became the second man to win three medals in the event and the first to win three golds. His winning margin of 3 cm would prove to be his narrowest of his four Olympic titles. Mike Powell repeated his silver medal performance from 1988, becoming the eighth two-medal winner in the event. Joe Greene took bronze, completing the United States' second consecutive and fourth overall medal sweep in the men's long jump.
The men's triple jump event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 45 competitors, with 43 athletes from 31 nations starting in two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Saturday September 24, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Khristo Markov of Bulgaria, the nation's first medal and victory in the men's triple jump. Igor Lapshin and Aleksandr Kovalenko of the Soviet Union took silver and bronze in an event where the Soviets had reached the podium eight consecutive Games before the 1984 boycott.
The men's triple jump event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had an entry list of 23 competitors, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Friday, July 25, 1980. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The top twelve and ties, and all those reaching 16.55 metres advanced to the final. The qualification round was held on Thursday, July 24, 1980.
The men's long jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Tuesday, July 8, 1924. 34 long jumpers from 21 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation was 4. The event was won by DeHart Hubbard of the United States, the nation's sixth title in the event. Sverre Hansen won Norway's first long jump medal with the bronze.
The men's long jump event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on Monday, 25 September, and Thursday, 28 September 2000, in Sydney, Australia. Fifty-three athletes from 38 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Iván Pedroso of Cuba, the nation's first medal and title in the men's long jump; it snapped a four-Games streak of American victories. Jai Taurima took silver, Australia's third silver in the event. Roman Shchurenko earned Ukraine's first medal in the men's long jump with his bronze. It was the first time the United States had competed in the event and not won at least a silver medal; the Americans had previously failed to place in the top two only at the boycotted 1980 Games.
The men's long jump was one of four men's jumping events on the Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics program in Mexico City. The long jump took place on 18 October 1968. Thirty-five athletes from 22 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at three since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
The men's long jump at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union had a start list of 32 competitors from 23 countries, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Monday July 28, 1980. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The top twelve and ties and all those reaching 7.90 metres advanced to the final. The event was won by 33cm by Lutz Dombrowski of East Germany, the first gold medal in the men's long jump by any German jumper. Frank Paschek made East Germany the only nation other than the United States to have two men on the podium in the same Games in the event. Valeriy Podluzhniy won the Soviet Union's first men's long jump medal since 1964. The American-led boycott ended the United States' three-Games gold medal streak and 18-Games streak of winning at least a silver medal in the event.
The men's long jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Tuesday, July 31, 1928. Forty-one long jumpers from 23 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation was 4. The event was won by Ed Hamm of the United States, the nation's second consecutive and seventh overall victory in the event. Silvio Cator earned Haiti's first medal in the event by taking silver.
The men's long jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on August 4, 1936. Forty-three athletes from 27 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by 19cm by American Jesse Owens. It was the United States' fourth consecutive and ninth overall gold medal in the event; it was also Owens's second of four gold medals in the 1936 Games. Luz Long won Germany's first medal in the event with silver; Naoto Tajima put Japan on the podium for the second Games in a row with bronze.
The men's triple jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on August 6, 1936. Thirty-one athletes from 19 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by Naoto Tajima of Japan with a world-record jump. It was Japan's third consecutive gold medal in the men's triple jump; as of the 2016 Games, it is the last gold medal Japan has won in the event. Masao Harada's silver medal made it the second Games in which Japan put two men on the podium in the event. Jack Metcalfe of Australia earned bronze, Australia's first medal in the event since 1924.
The men's long jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 31, 1948. Twenty-one athletes from 17 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by 27cm by American Willie Steele. It was the United States' fifth consecutive and tenth overall gold medal in the men's long jump. Theo Bruce won Australia's first long jump medal with his silver.
The men's long jump field event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place on September 2. Forty-nine athletes from 34 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 1cm by Ralph Boston of the United States, the nation's eighth consecutive and 13th overall victory in the men's long jump. Igor Ter-Ovanesyan's bronze was the Soviet Union's first medal in the event.
The men's triple jump field event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place on September 6. Thirty-nine athletes from 24 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. Józef Szmidt of Poland won the gold medal. It was Poland's first medal and first victory in the men's triple jump. Vitold Kreyer of the Soviet Union repeated his bronze medal performance from 1956, becoming the sixth man to win two medals in the event. His countryman Vladimir Goryaev took silver; this made the Soviet Union the fourth nation to have two men on the podium in the same year in the triple jump and the fourth nation to reach the podium three Games in a row.
The men's long jump event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich was held on 8 & 9 of September. Thirty-six athletes from 25 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 6cm by Randy Williams of the United States, the nation's second consecutive and 15th overall gold medal in the men's long jump. Hans Baumgartner earned West Germany's first medal in the event.
