1968 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Long Jump (Men)

sport	athletics
discipline	Long jump
gender	men
Attendees	35 athletes from 22 countries
Competition location	Estadio Olímpico Universitario
Competition phase	October 17, 1968 (qualification) October 18, 1968 (final)
Medalists Bob Beamon ( USA )   Klaus Beer ( GDR )   Ralph Boston ( USA )

The men's long jump at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City was held on October 17 and 18, 1968 at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario . 35 athletes took part.

Olympic champion was the American Bob Beamon . He won with a new world record of 8.90 m ahead of Klaus Beer from the GDR and Ralph Boston from the USA.

The record jump of the winner Beamon was probably the most famous athletics performance of the Mexico City Games . Beamon surpassed the previous world record by 55 centimeters. It was the greatest improvement on the world record in the history of the long jump. This record lasted 23 years before the American Mike Powell jumped five centimeters further at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo on August 30, 1991 . Beamon 8.90 m have the Olympic record still inventory - as of August 2021, the width is the oldest existing Olympic record.

Reinhold Boschert started for the Federal Republic of Germany - officially Germany - who qualified for the final and finished twelfth.
The GDR - officially East Germany - was represented by the silver medalist Klaus Beer.
Athletes from Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part.

Existing records

World record	8.35 m	Ralph Boston ( USA )	Modesto , USA	May 29, 1965
		Igor Ter-Owanesjan ( Soviet Union )	Mexico City , Mexico	October 19, 1967
Olympic record	8.12 m	Ralph Boston ( USA )	Final of Rome , Italy	2nd September 1960

Conducting the competition

The athletes competed in a qualifying round on October 17, which was completed in two groups. The twelve best starters qualified for the final. With a width of 7.65 m they qualified directly for the final on October 18th. In the final, each participant initially had three attempts. For the first time at the Olympic Games, the eight best - and not only the six best - athletes were allowed three more attempts.

Time schedule

October 17, 10:30 a.m .: Qualification

October 18, 3:30 p.m .: Final

Note: All times are Mexico City local time ( UTC −6)

The qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue.

qualification

Date: October 17, 1968, from 10.30 a.m.

Group A

After an Olympic record in qualification, the American Ralph Boston "only" achieved bronze in the final

place	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	Expanse	annotation
1	Ralph Boston	United States	8.27 m OR	-	-	8.27 m	OR
2	Bob Beamon	United States	x	x	8.19 m	8.19 m
3	Tõnu Lepik	Soviet Union	7.91 m	-	-	7.91 m
	Jack Pani	France
5	Michael Ahey	Ghana	7.18 m	7.77 m	-	7.77 m
6th	Victor Brooks	Jamaica	x	7.54 m	7.72 m	7.72 m
7th	Andrzej Stalmach	Poland	7.60 m	7.48 m	7.70 m	7.70 m
8th	Leonid Barkowskyj	Soviet Union	7.25 m	7.70 m	-	7.70 m
9	Hiroomi Yamada	Japan	7.67 m	-	-	7.67 m
10	Alan Lerwill	Great Britain	7.57 m	7.62 m	7.60 m	7.62 m
11	Shinji Ogura	Japan	7.57 m	x	7.28 m	7.57 m
12th	Philippe Housiaux	Belgium	7.30 m	7.44 m	7.40 m	7.44 m
13	Clement Sagna	Senegal	7.26 m	7.17 m	7.31 m	7.31 m
14th	Jerry Wisdom	Bahamas	x	x	6.99 m	6.99 m
15th	Chen Ming-chi	Taiwan	6.62 m	x	6.71 m	6.71 m
16	Owen Meighan	British Honduras	x	6.06 m	6.06 m	6.06 m
ogV	Peter Reed	Great Britain	x	x	x		without space

Group B

Fourth place in the final: Igor Ter-Owanesjan, USSR

place	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	Expanse	annotation
1	Lynn Davies	Great Britain	x	x	7.94 m	7.94 m
2	Charles Mays	United States	7.85 m	-	-	7.85 m
3	Reinhold Boschert	BR Germany	x	7.79 m	-	7.79 m
4th	Klaus Beer	GDR	7.77 m	-	-	7.77 m
	Lars-Olof Höök	Sweden
6th	Gérard Ugolini	France	7.75 m	-	-	7.75 m
7th	Igor Ter-Owanesjan	Soviet Union	7.74 m	-	-	7.74 m
8th	Allen Crawley	Australia	x	7.71 m	-	7.71 m
9	Pertti Pousi	Finland	7.46 m	7.63 m	x	7.63 m
10	Laurent Sarr	Senegal	7.27 m	7.50 m	7.61 m	7.61 m
11	Galdino Flores	Mexico	7.38 m	7.59 m	x	7.59 m
12th	Naoki Abe	Japan	7.44 m	x	7.58 m	7.58 m
13	Wellesley Clayton	Jamaica	7.54 m	7.57 m	x	7.57 m
14th	Michel Charland	Canada	7.15 m	7.35 m	7.35 m	7.35 m
15th	Su Wen-ho	Taiwan	7.30 m	x	7.14 m	7.30 m
16	Anthony Chong	Malaysia	7.09 m	x	7.29 m	7.29 m
17th	Donald Velez	Nicaragua	x	6.63 m	x	6.63 m
18th	Jean Cochard	France	6.11 m	-	x	6.11 m

final

Bob Beamon, USA, during his victory jump

GDR jumper Klaus Beer won silver

Date: October 18, 1968, 3:30 p.m.

There were three favorites for this competition: the 1960 Olympic champion and world record holder Ralph Boston from the USA, the Soviet co-record holder Igor Ter-Owanesjan and the British 1964 Olympic champion Lynn Davies. While Boston jumped a new Olympic record in the first attempt in qualifying , Davies struggled and only made it to the final in the third and last attempt.

17 jumpers had reached the required qualification distance and were in the final. In the very first attempt, Bob Beamon, who is considered a great talent, managed the width of 8.90 m - 55 centimeters, which was considered impossible, more than the existing world record. In the qualification, Beamon had not been able to cope with the run-up and, like Davies, had only qualified with his last attempt. His 8.90 meter jump, however, was too far for the existing measuring devices. The correct result could only be determined with a steel tape measure. The wind support was in the just permissible range of 2.0 meters per second, so that the jump could be recognized as a world record. Beamon jumped only one more time and then left it at that - knowing that he would never succeed in such a distance a second time.

Beamon's opponents were paralyzed. Another surprise was the silver medal win by GDR jumper Klaus Beer, who reached 8.19 m in the second attempt and was even three cm ahead of Ralph Boston. Igor Ter-Owanesjan was fourth with 8.12 m.

We have recorded reactions from Davies and Ter-Owanesjan to Beamon's jump. The Soviet co-favorite said to Davies: Compared to this jump, we are children - German: Compared to this jump, we are children. - Davies accused Beamon: "You have destroyed this event." - German: You destroyed this competition.

place	Surname	nation	1. V.	2. V.	3. V.	4. V.	5. V.	6. V.	Bottom line	annotation
1	Bob Beamon	United States	8.90 m WR	8.04 m	-	-	-	-	8.90 m	WR
2	Klaus Beer	GDR	7.97 m	8.19 m	x	7.62 m	x	x	8.19 m
3	Ralph Boston	United States	8.16 m	8.05 m	7.91 m	x	x	7.97 m	8.16 m
4th	Igor Ter-Ovanessjan	URS	8.12 m	8.09 m	x	x	8.10 m	8.08 m	8.12 m
5	Tõnu Lepik	URS	7.82 m	8.09 m	7.63 m	7.36 m	7.84 m	7.75 m	8.09 m
6th	Allen Crawley	THE END	x	8.01 m	x	7.80 m	x	8.02 m	8.02 m
7th	Jack Pani	FRA	7.94 m	7.97 m	7.69 m	7.58 m	7.61 m	x	7.97 m
8th	Andrzej Stalmach	POLE	7.71 m	7.94 m	7.88 m	7.75 m	7.75 m	7.84 m	7.94 m
9	Lynn Davies	GBR	6.43 m	7.94 m	x	not in the final of the eight best jumpers			7.94 m
10	Hiroomi Yamada	JPN	x	7.93 m	x				7.93 m
11	Leonid Barkowskyj	URS	7.90 m	7.82 m	x				7.90 m
12th	Reinhold Boschert	FRG	x	7.54 m	7.89 m				7.89 m
13	Michael Ahey	GHA	7.71 m	7.57 m	7.40 m				7.71 m
14th	Lars-Olof Höök	SWE	7.66 m	x	x				7.66 m
15th	Victor Brooks	JAM	x	x	7.51 m				7.51 m
16	Gérard Ugolini	FRA	7.44 m	7.02 m	x				7.44 m
ogV	Charles Mays	United States	x	x	x					without space

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, pp. 360–363

Video

• Bob Beamon's World Record Long Jump - 1968 Olympics , published January 21, 2010 on youtube.com, accessed November 9, 2017

Web links

• SportsReference Long Jump , accessed November 9, 2017
• Official report - summary pp. 98–101, Eng / Frz. (PDF), accessed on November 9, 2017
• Official report of the Olympic Games 1968 p. 528, English / French. (PDF), accessed on November 9, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IAAF world records. Long jump men on rekorde-im-sport.de. Retrieved November 9, 2017
2. ↑ Official report of the 1968 Olympic Games ( memento of the original from September 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 10, English / French (PDF), accessed on November 9, 2017 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Official Report of the 1968 Olympic Games ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 528, engl./frz. (PDF), accessed on November 9, 2017 
4. ↑ Article in the blog Weltrekordler.de ( Memento from November 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on November 9, 2017
5. ↑ Article on ESPN , accessed on November 9, 2017