Bob Beamon (original) (raw)

Bob Beamon, an American track and field athlete, was born Robert Beamon on August 29, 1946 in Jamaica, NY. Beamon set a world record for the long jump at the 1968 summer Olympic games at Mexico City with a jump of 8.90 m (29 ft. 2 1/2 in.). His world record stood for 23 years, and was named by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of the five greatest sports moments of the 20th century.

Prior to Beamon�s jump, the world record had been broken 13 times since 1901, with an average increase of 0.06m and the largest increase being 0.15m. Beamon�s gold medal mark bettered the existing record by 0.55m (21 3/4 in.) as he became the first person to reach both 28 and 29 feet. The defending Olympic champion, Lyn Davies of England, told Beamon, �You have destroyed this event�, and in track and field jargon, a new adjective, �Beamonesque� came into use to describe spectacular feats. Beamon�s record was broken in 1991 when Mike Powell jumped 8.95 m at the World Championships in Tokyo.