Long Jump

In the long jump the challenge is to transfer your speed that you gain in sprinting down the runway into leaping as far as possible. Good sprinters often can also jump far, but athletes also need leaping ability of course.


A jumping attempt can be divided into several phases:

• Over a distance mostly between 40 and 50 m the athlete accelerates to gain maximum speed before takeoff. Athletes are often supported by the supporters by rhythmical clapping before and during the approach.
• The last two strides determine the velocity a jumper can put into his jump. The second to last step should be longer than the last and the previous steps to lower his center of gravity which enables him to put more power into the jump.
• To take off the jumper should place his foot flat on the ground (just the toes or heels would decrease stability and velocity) while keeping his body upright and moving his hips forward and up
• There are different techniques for the flying phase, the most common being the hang technique and the hitch-kick for advanced jumpers. In the hang technique, often applied by decathletes, both legs and arms are extended until the apex of the jump, when the jumper starts preparing the landing phase. The hitch-kick resembles running in the air with the arms performing a rotational movement
• When landing the athlete has to avoid falling back, as the distance is measured between takeoff point and the mark in the sand closest to it. So when making contact with the ground the athlete will try to rotate the body sideways to make his heels the furthest point back

One big challenge during a jump is to hit the takeoff board as close as possible to the foul line, as that is the place from where his leap will be measured. But at the same time he has to make sure not to touch the foul line with any part of his foot, as this would result in an illegal jump. This is often made more difficult by wind conditions which can increase or decrease the speed during the approach. For decathletes three invalid jumps would mean no points in the long jump and the end of their ambitions in a competition.

Good jumpers among the decathletes like Roman Sebrle can jump over 8 m - receiving more than 1000 points for this result (24 points for 10 cm).

Some of the best decathletes in this event with their PBs:

• Roman Sebrle (CZE) - 8,11 m
• Erki Nool (EST) - 8,10 m
• Dan O'Brien (USA) - 8,08 m
• Tomas Dvorak (CZE) - 8,07 m
• Michael Schrader (GER) - 8,05 m

To compare the current world record for this event is 8,95 m, held by Michael Powell.