The long jump is an athletics (track and field) event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to land as far from the take-off point as possible.
Competitors sprint down a runway (usually coated with the same rubberized surface as running tracks, crumb rubber or vulcanized rubber) and jump as far as they can off of a wooden board into a pit filled with finely ground gravel or sand. The distance traveled by a jumper is often referred to as the “mark,” because it is the distance to which the first mark is made in the sand. More specifically, a mark is the minimum distance from the edge of the takeoff board, nearest the landing pit, to the first indentation made by the competitor. If the competitor starts the leap with any part of the foot in front of the board, the jump is declared illegal and no distance is recorded. At the elite level, a layer of plasticine is placed immediately after the board to detect this occurrence. Otherwise, an official (similar to a referee) will observe the jump and make the determination. The competitor can initiate the jump from any point behind the foul line; however, the distance measured will always be from the foul line. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the competitor to get as close to the foul line as possible.
The exact format of the competition varies, but generally each competitor will get a set number of attempts to make his or her longest jump, and only the longest legal jump counts towards the results. Generally, competitors will be given three trial jumps with which to make their best effort. Higher level competitions are split into two rounds: trials and finals. In competitions containing a final round, only a select number of competitors are invited to return for further competition. The number of competitors chosen to return to the final round is determined prior to the start of the meet by a committee composed generally of coaches and officials. It is standard practice to allow one more competitor than the number of scoring positions to return to the final round. For example, if a given meet allows the top eight competitors to score points, then the top nine competitors will be selected to compete in the final round. Taking an extra competitor to the final round helps to allow that athlete to move into a scoring position if the competitor can improve on his or her best mark of the competition. Final rounds are viewed as an additional three jumps, as they do not have any priority to those scored in the trial round. The competitor with the longest legal jump (from either the trial or final rounds) at the end of competition is declared the winner. (For specific rules and regulations in U.S. Track & Field see Rule 185
There are four main components of the long jump: the approach run, the last two strides, takeoff, and action in the air and landing. Speed in the run-up, or approach, and a high leap off the board are the fundamentals of success. Because speed is such an important factor of the approach, it is not surprising that many sprinters, notably including _Carl Lewis, also compete successfully in the long jump.
The long jump is also notable for two of the longest-standing world records in any track and field event. In 1935, Jesse Owens set a long jump world record that was not broken until 1960 by Ralph Boston. Later, Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters (29 feet, 2-1/2 inches) at the 1968 Summer Olympics, a jump not exceeded until 1991. On August 30 of that year, Mike Powell of the USA leapt 8.95 meters at the World Championships in Tokyo. Some jumps over 8.95 meters have been officially recorded (8.99 meters by Mike Powell himself, 8.96 meters by Ivan Pedroso), but were not validated since there was either no reliable wind speed measurement available, or because wind speed exceeded 2.0 m/s. The current world record for women is held by Galina Chistyakova of the former Soviet Union who leapt 7.52 meters in Leningrad in 1988.
