Personal information | |
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Nationality | American |
Born | December 31, 1957 |
Sport | |
Country | ![]() |
Sport | Athletics |
Event | High jump |
Achievements and titles | |
Personal best |
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Franklin Jacobs (born December 31, 1957 [1] ) is a former high jumper from the United States. His personal best of 2.32 meters (7 ft 7+1⁄4 in) was a world indoor record in 1978, [2] and at 59 centimeters (23 in) above Jacobs' own height of 1.73 meters (5 ft 8 in), [2] it remains the record for height differential, now held jointly with Stefan Holm. [3]
Jacobs was one of ten children of Jannie Jacobs, living in a shack in Mullins, South Carolina. [4] His parents separated when he was young. [5] The impoverished family moved to Paterson, New Jersey when he was three and lived with four cousins. [4] His first love was basketball, and he played for Paterson East-side High. [4] He only started high jumping in his senior year, after the end of the basketball season. [4] He cleared 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) that year. [4] His natural talent overcame his lack of technique: he called his style the "Jacobs Slop", as opposed to the Fosbury Flop; [6] but later renamed it the "Slope", from the trajectory of his launch. [7]
Jacobs barely graduated high school and got no athletic scholarship, but enrolled at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey with a federal grant. [4] He cleared 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 m) in his freshman year. [4] In March 1977 he tore cartilage in his right leg playing basketball, but competed for over a year without surgery. [5] He established a rivalry with Dwight Stones over the next two years, [4] with media emphasizing the contrast between Jacobs, a short inner-city African American, and Stones, a tall blond Californian. [8] Stones antagonized Jacobs by criticizing his unorthodox jumping style. [5] Jacobs beat Stones at the 1978 Millrose Games in Madison Square Garden, at which he set a world indoor record of 2.32 meters (7 ft 7+1⁄4 in). [6] He waived his right to try for an even higher record, saying he "didn't feel nervous enough". [6] Two months later, Vladimir Yashchenko broke the record in Milan. [9] In July, at a highly publicized international between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Jacobs lost to Yashchenko on countback. [10] In August, Jacobs won the Tanqueray Award for outstanding amateur athlete; by then he had won 27 collegiate events. [11]
Jacobs anticipated gaining lucrative endorsements from the 1980 Olympics, but the U.S. boycott of the Games precluded this. [8] He was extremely disappointed and wanted to skip the U.S. "Olympic Trials"; he attended by request of his college, but failed his opening height. [2] He gave up the high jump and did not return to college. [8] A planned return to competition in 1982 [12] did not happen. [2] In 1991, he commented, "I was upset and my dreams were shattered. I probably could have come back in 1984, but I was a naive kid. It was like the floor fell in." [13]
He subsequently had various jobs around Paterson, [2] [8] working for a construction company 1986–91. [13] He married Naomi Livingston c.1990 and had a daughter Shannon in 1992. [2] [8] Around 1995, they moved to Gilbert, Arizona. [2] In 1998 he was working for an electrical installation company. [2] [8] That year, he attended a Millrose Games tribute to stars of memorable previous meets. [2]
Year | Tournament | Venue | Result | Height (m) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | NCAA Outdoor | Champaign, Illinois | 2nd | 2.26 [14] |
1977 | US Nationals | Los Angeles, California | 2nd | 2.27 [1] |
1978 | NCAA Indoor | Detroit, Michigan | 1st | 2.25 [fn 1] [15] |
1978 | NCAA Outdoor | Eugene, Oregon | 1st | 2.26 [16] |
1978 | US Nationals | Los Angeles, California | 2nd | 2.24 [1] |
1979 | US Nationals | Walnut, California | 1st | 2.26 [fn 2] [1] [17] |
1979 | Pan American Games | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 1st | 2.26 [1] |
1979 | World Cup | Montreal, Canada | 1st | 2.27 [1] |
1980 | NCAA Indoor | Detroit, Michigan | 1st | 2.24 [15] |
1980 | US Indoor Nationals | New York City [18] | 1st | 2.24 [fn 3] [19] |
1980 | US Nationals | Walnut, California | 1st | 2.24 [fn 3] [1] [17] |
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