Long Jump: the sport

The long jump is an athletics field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far from the take-off point as possible.

Competitors sprint down a runway (commonly coated with the same surface as running tracks) and jump as far as they can from behind a foul line (commonly referred to as the "board", and usually defined by the trailing edge of a takeoff board embedded flush with the runway surface) into a pit filled with sand. The length of the jump is called the "mark", because it is the distance from the foul line to the nearest mark made by the jumper’s body landing in the sand. If the athlete sets any part of the foot past the foul line, the jump is illegal and no distance is measured. In top level competitions, a layer of plasticine is placed immediately after the board to detect this occurrence. Otherwise, an official will observe the jump and make the determination. The competitor can start the leap from any point behind the foul line; however, the distance measured will always be from the foul line. Therefore, it is essential for athletes to get as close to the foul line as possible.

Usually, each competitor has a set number of attempts (typically three) to make his or her longest jump, and only the longest legal jump counts towards the results. 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 the final round. A final round is made up of three new jumps. The competitor with the longest legal jump (from either the trial or final rounds) at the end of competition is declared the winner.

The long jump was one of the events of the original Olympics in Ancient Greece. The athletes carried a weight called halteres in each hand. These weights were swung forward as the athlete jumped in order to increase momentum. They would then be swung down and back at the end of the jump, changing the athlete's center of gravity and allowing him to stretch his legs outward, increasing his distance. Most notable in the ancient sport was a man called Chionis, who in the 656BC Olympics staged a jump of 7.05 meters!