Quixplained: Why long jump records take years to be broken

American Mike Powell’s long jump world record of 8.95 metres has now stood for 30 years. Before Powell’s monster effort in 1991, US legend Bob Beamon’s historic leap of 8.90m had remained unchallenged for 23 years. Going further back, Jesse Owens had been the undisputed king of the pit as no one could match his jump of 8.13 from 1935 to 1960. In the women’s event, Galina Chistyakova, representing the erstwhile USSR, set the world record of 7.52 metres in 1988. The mark is still in her name.

Recently, there has been a dip in quality in the men’s long jump. At the last Olympics, Rio 2016, 8.38 metres was good enough for United States’s Jeff Henderson to win the gold medal. Cuba’s Echevarria won gold at the 2019 World Championships with 8.46 metres.

Why long jumps take years to be broken World record holders in men’s long jump Did Usain Bolt had it in him to break the long jump world record? Longest jump record in the women’s category is still intact. Long jump record-holders in India Has there been a dip in standard of long jump events?