Bob Beamon: The Leap of the Century | Outside The Lines

[@ogbillity]

Glad to see he is in good health.

[@mendesnelson]

He looks and sounds GREAT! Wow, what a treat!

[@MrKT410]

This is without question the greatest single performance in Olympic history.

[@INeedABlessingNow]

Beamon's leap remains one of the most amazing athletic feats more than fifty years later.

[@kalyanchaudhuri]

You are greatest. God bless you always Kc from india. Hallelujah ❤

[@melindaabplanalp3980]

I saw him do that on tv. I finally met him when I worked for adidas. I never thought in my lifetime I would meet him. I also met Al Oerter at the same time. I love field events!

[@PunanyChemist]

When I first saw this record. I measured the length of my childhood home. The cat jumped further than the length of my home. Much respect. Also shout out to King Carl and Mike Powell their duel was epic some time later.

[@leonardodalongisland]

Very cool...I spent a semester at U of H as an official "member" of the T&F team-whe Carl and Carol were on the team.

[@RickVanderHorst]

The greatest single athletic achievement in Track and Field history!

[@leonardodalongisland]

Arguably THE greatest moment in all sports history....I hope to be doing a mural honoring the man (and other Long Island athletes) here on the Island and we plan on inviting him to the "reveal."...I do hope he says, "Yes."

[@TheGreatness-gg1jx]

"If you could get one moment in history to make a difference, take it, grab it, run with it, get it while you're hot, cuz it may never come again." YESSSSZZZIRRRR!! BOB BEAMON IS THE GOAT!

[@cesarcoelho7227]

What a GOOD SOUL 😊LOVE THIS GUY !!! Humble & a true legend ❤god bless you

[@armandoruiz8963]

Probably the most epic moment in Olympic history 😎😎😎😎

[@AlBoulley]

also: Rulon Gardner v Aleksandr Karelin

[@danmyers9372]

A top moment for sure. I remember watching it live and thinking that can’t be real. I mean no one had ever jumped over 28’ and he jumps over 29’!? I knew his world record had been broken but it didn’t dawn on me that his OLYMPIC record still stands and may never be broken unless and until an Olympics returns to a high altitude location.

[@perrymalcolm3802]

Was, and still remains, one of my top 5 Olympic heroes!

[@gordonwaldner9792]

Great post. Bob looks so healthy and happy. I had quit long jumping a year before that jump. The next time I was at a track a few of us measured 8.90m in the pit it is so far it is fantastic. The current triple jump record of Jonathon Edwards is comparable for the rarely perfection of the jump.

[@MichaelBennett-jk6dn]

The Olympic record that will probably never be broken. 29 ft. & 2.5 inches by the great Bob Beamon.

[@orwellknew9112]

That jump to me is still the greatest. Bob was a true amateur. A guy who did that and then had to go find a job to get on with the rest of his life. When you look at him, Bob was truly gifted with a body built to jump like a human gazelle. Bob only took one jump in that Olympic final and that was all he needed. So many Olympics have come and gone over the years and Bob's Olympic record still stands. The odds are very high that after this Olympics, Bob's record will still be standing. Only one man has jumped further, Mike Powell, and he only did it once. 8.95 meters, 2.36 inches further than Bob's previous World record. After 56 years, Bob is still ranked #2 in the all time list of the longest jumps. Truly remarkeable!

[@gmnboss]

Simply Legendary

[@grandduke2145]

Was the first Olympics I remember. I don’t remember 64, was a little too young. I saw that live. Had forgotten that he jumped past the measurements. I remember them with the tape measure, lol. So many things happened in that Olympics, was one of the most memorable ever.

[@robsmith6087]

hope you're happy, well and contented Bob

[@craighenry2351]

The only track record I could liken to Beamon’s was set by an athlete who graduated from high school the same year I did, in 1979. Bear n mind that another high school record was set that year and that recordctook a long time to be broken. Carl Lewis set the high school long jump record that he held for 31 years. But that wasn’t the big record set that year. In 1979, at the start of the track season, the record in the boys 12 pound shot put was over 72 feet. By the end of the year an athlete ran sed the record to 77 feet. But this athlete had one final meet left in his high school career. On that day in June, this athlete threw the shot 81 feet 3 1/2 inches. No one has come within four feet of that record since. What made this record even more ridiculous is that this athlete made his record throw, not with the discus technique everyone uses today, but with the old school method of shuffle, pivot and throw (Thereby actually putting the shot.). So who am I talking about?l. None other than Michael Carter. Carter left international competition after he graduated from SMU in 1983. He left track to play Nose Guard for the San Francisco 49ers. Before he left track for good, he won a silver medal in the 16 pound shot at the world championships. However, due to the amareur rules at the time, if he wanted to play in the NFL, which he did, he had to give up his amateur status in 1983. But he left one more mark in the shot put. In 2016 Micheal coached his daughter to a gold medal in the womens shot at the Rio Olympics. So Michael raised the high school boys 12 pound shot put record nearly 9 feet in one year. He has now had this record for 45 years. This is truly the only track record that I think approaches the magnitude of what Bob Beamon did. The percentage of improvement in the records is comparable. But to give Bob Beamon his due, he set his record on a much grander stage!

[@akarilotube]

Gives me chills!

[@MsNerdsRevenge]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ Thank you Bob Beamon!!🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@pinballpsycho]

68 was interesting. Fosbury, Beamon. I read everything I could and every encyclopedia I could find about Beamon in 68.

[@cjzito]

Beamon had a huge wind and altitude advantage (all the jumpers did). He deserved the Gold Medal and the world record. However, adjusted for sea level and no wind, this jump scientifically adjusts to 28 ft 2 in. Still a big improvement in the world record, but only half as much as his 29 ft 2.5 in measurement. And if THAT had been the case, his world record (of 28 ft 2 in) would have been broken several times by Carl Lewis.

[@gillboardman8998]

Theres really only one thing on my bucket list i think about a lot, and that's meeting Bob Beamon before i can't. I REALLY have to get that one crossed off. 😎👍

[@spencermackay9020]

That's it right there baby, that's it right there. That's even it right there.

[@Disciple793]

It's the oldest Olympic record that still stands. Unlike the 100 meters sprint the long jump requires speed, timing, and vertical ability. So even if a person was taking steroids, it may not help improve distance as much as it would just purely sprinting.

[@markchapman381]

The winning long jump in Tokyo was 27'7". The best athletes aren't competing in this event anymore.

[@danmyers9372]

@@markchapman381- Good point. It used to be a premier event with many sprinters commonly doubling up on the sprints and the long jump. Carl Lewis was the last world class sprinter that I can think of that did this.

[@ambassadorboerboels7355]

Thank you Bob it still amazes me to think of the greatness of the fist while dealing with racism in your country.❤

[@russreed1529]

Just couldn't RESIST being ignorant on here - could you !!!!

[@FlyWithMe_666]

Even more remarkable that he jumped that far in 1968 without those crazy wingsuits they wear today.

[@brum23]

They pretty much wear the same uniforms today

[@bobbullethalf]

Great athlete, looks like track and field athletes live a long time.

[@basketballspinner]

it was wind aided at 8,000 feet altitude

[@bedlam5216]

second and third place were about 26 & 1/2 by the co-world record holders.

[@sergelu]

2023 Paris Olympics ! Yeah

[@joeb7868]

2023 Paris Olympics ?

[@RashaadJorden]

I thought heard him say "2023 Paris Olympics."

[@THEMathHacker-121]

I’m looking forward to the 2023 Paris Olympics. Any day yesterday

[@delphione7726]

He was not the only one who jumped in the thin air in Mexico City.

[@54321-p]

What an athlete! Perhaps he could have set the high jump record as well....

[@marymartindale996]

Awesome

[@franciscoj.figueroarivera8337]

This is why ESPN is in trouble. When one of your anchors says " the 2023 Paris Olympics....." when it should be the "2024 Paris Olympics ".

[@gingerhiser7312]

He had a lucky landing, too. They sometimes lose distance due to failing backwards on landing.

[@rodneyharper2275]

Love it

[@yourontheair]

great

[@user-mf1wt6cv9k]

2023 Paris Olympics? Uh, sure.

[@angelmatos9143]

'Beamonesque' is in the dictionary. 😎

[@garryperrin2408]

Missed the measuring device sliding off its scale, falling off into the dirt.

[@ArmandoMartinez-k7h]

USA.

[@brandoncool63]

Mike Powell beat this jump.

[@briankeefe476]

Not at the Olympic Games though. Which is why Beamon's record could be around for decades to come.

[@cesarcoelho7227]

Americans nowadays barely breaking 8 meters 😮😢

[@DhaniMiller]

First

[@PEN-N-PAL]

*The jump was at 7,349 ft. of altitude, what's the big deal?*

[@postmodgent1499]

yes, and many have tried there and higher since have failed to equal distance

[@briankeefe476]

Jumping off an old type of runway, with old training techniques and unsophisticated shoes, etc. Scientists have done modeling on the high altitude jump. Beamon might have gotten a 2.75 inch "altitude" benefit. The tail wind was just under the legal limit. Still, at least 85% of the + 21.65 inches Beamon added to the record was due to him.

[@nothangu9210]

Watching this jump live just before high school inspired me to enter my first track meet and eventually join the track team… one of the best decisions of my life! For years, I tried unsuccessfully to locate Bob to thank him for inspiring me. I still wish I knew how to thank him 🥲