Beamon's qualifying leap in Mexico City (Oct. 1968)

[catson52]

As I recall, he had two bad fouls. Third attempt, not a full run up, took off well before the board and still stretched out to about 26' 10''. Any wind readings on that one? Surely a harbinger to what was to come in the first round of the final?

[DoubleRBar]

You have it right. I was sitting fairly close to the long jump and remember it well. Beamon, as you know, was a pretty good sprinter and I think he misjudged his steps on the runway. He fouled his first two qualifying jumps. I'm not sure that they were "bad fouls". Pretty much all fouls are bad, but if you mean his foot was way over the board, I couldn't see that from where I was sitting.

His third qualifying jump went to 26' 10 1/2". He definitely did not use a full run-up on that jump. Someone sitting near me said Beamon's second qualifying jump looked to be about 27 and a half feet. I couldn't wait for the final. I believe most track fans understood that Mexico City's altitude was a big help for all the long jumpers, but not over 29' of help.

[Davidokun]

Olympedia reports 0.0:

https://www.olympedia.org/results/60712

[DoubleRBar]

I don't remember the wind, but I sure do remember the rain. It started raining (fairly hard rain) shortly after Beamon's world record jump.

[tandfman]

You have it right. I was sitting fairly close to the long jump and remember it well. .

I was sitting on the opposite side of the stadium, but do remember seeing those qual jumps, watching closely with good binoculars, and concluding that he was ready to produce a monster WR .

[catson52]

Olympedia reports 0.0:

https://www.olympedia.org/results/60712

Thanks, useful summary. So the wind reading appears to be 0.0. Of course the altitude helped - e.g. the TJ competition. There were good marks in the women's LJ, and perhaps strong wind for Beamon's WR. It still remains the most iconic performance I can remember in my 68th year of following TF fairly closely. Started with a bang, seeing Bannister's historic run on British TV, hours after the Iffley Road performance, Kuts/Chataway/Zatopek in Bern, Bannister/Landy + Jim Peters in Vancouver.

[Alcyallen]

Wind, altitude, simply doesn't matter if talking 29 feet in 1968, incredible jump.

[KevinR]

Once again, I am fascinated by the first hand recollections of others on the board. It adds so much to the enjoyment of events I have only seen on television, or read of in print. Very grateful for all that you have to share.

[wamego relays champ]

Once again, I am fascinated by the first hand recollections of others on the board.

Agreed. I also found fascinating the recollections of photographer Tony Duffy on how he lucked into taking one of the most iconic images of the '68 OG, and in the history of our sport.


https://worldathletics.org/news/seri...d-record-photo

[bambam1729]

Agreed. I also found fascinating the recollections of photographer Tony Duffy on how he lucked into taking one of the most iconic images of the '68 OG, and in the history of our sport.
https://worldathletics.org/news/seri...d-record-photo

This is actually a much more detailed story of the photograph by David Davis, a writer who often writes about sports photograph - he did one on the Munich 72 massacre and the masked terrorist no the balcony and that photograph - https://deadspin.com/the-story-behin...nly-1736766124

[Fortius19]

Agreed. I also found fascinating the recollections of photographer Tony Duffy on how he lucked into taking one of the most iconic images of the '68 OG, and in the history of our sport.


https://worldathletics.org/news/seri...d-record-photo

I agree also about the first hand recollections!

I met Tony Duffy in Long Beach, CA circa 1994. He told us this story firsthand. My girlfriend at the time was a sprinter on the CSULB track team. She was naturally lean year-round. I convinced her to do a bodybuilding show with zero training. I just taught her to pose. Tony had a dozen or so slides of her poses from the contest taken by one of his photographers. He said these were the best photos taken at the entire show because she held the poses long enough to get a good shot. All the other competitors rushed their routines. He gave us the slides. For two broke college kids it was an amazing gift. We had pictures printed from the slides.

She came in second place in the heavyweight division and won a huge trophy. Her college coach was so impressed and seemed more excited to hold the trophy than she was.

[Pego]

I watched Mexico City on TV in central Europe. The 7-hour difference meant that most finals occurred in the middle of the night. They had highlights after each T&F session. This was Karel Mikyska's comment on Beamon's WR jump.
"And this is Beamon's superleap into the twenty first century."

[Helen S]

Does this aforementioned “girlfriend at the time” not get any credit in this story, or do you prefer she remain anonymous?

[Fortius19]

Does this aforementioned “girlfriend at the time” not get any credit in this story, or do you prefer she remain anonymous?

Anon is good. I haven't been in touch with her in 25 years. She may not want me to post her name online.