Bob Beamon
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| Image:Olympic-rings.png | ||
| Gold medal | 1968 Mexico City | Athletics Men's long jump |
Robert "Bob" Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American track and field athlete, best known for his long-standing world record in the long jump.
Beamon, from Jamaica, New York, set a world record for the long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City with a jump of 8.90 m (29 ft. 2-1/2 in.). His world record stood for 23 years, and was named by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of the five greatest sports moments of the 20th century.
Prior to Beamon’s jump, the world record had been broken 13 times since 1901, with an average increase of 0.06 m and the largest increase being 0.15 m. Beamon’s gold medal mark bettered the existing record by 0.55 m (21-3/4 in.) as he became the first person to reach both 28 and 29 feet.
The defending Olympic champion, Lynn Davies of Wales, told Beamon, "You have destroyed this event", and in track and field jargon, a new adjective - Beamonesque - came into use to describe spectacular feats. Beamon’s record was broken in 1991 when Mike Powell jumped 8.95 m (29 ft. 4-3/8 in.) at the World Championships in Tokyo.
That Beamon surpassed himself can be seen by noting that his next best jump in his career measured 8.33 m (27.3 ft.), and after the gold medal he never jumped over 8.22 m (27 ft.)
| Olympic medalists in athletics (men) | Olympic Champions in men's long jump |
| Ellery Clark | Alvin Kraenzlein | Meyer Prinstein (twice) | Frank Irons | Albert Gutterson | William Pettersson | William DeHart Hubbard | Ed Hamm | Ed Gordon | Jesse Owens | Willie Steele | Jerome Biffle | Greg Bell | Ralph Boston | Lynn Davies | Bob Beamon | Randy Williams | Arnie Robinson | Lutz Dombrowski | Carl Lewis (four times) | Iván Pedroso | Dwight Phillips |
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