Albuquerque- Scientists have discovered that a 2.4 level seismographic earthquake tilted the earth at such an opportune time and might explain one of the greatest athletically recognized accomplishments in human history.
On October 18, 1968, long jump event favourite American Bob Beamon set a world record of 8.90m (29' 2.5") breaking the old mark by 55cm (21.75"). The jump was almost two feet further than Beamon had ever jumped and would not come with 2 feet the rest of his career.
Scientist explain that such a small earthquake would go unnoticed in a populous city like Mexico and more so, never felt inside a stadium. It would be best described as an earth "hiccup". So great was the accomplishment, Beamon's name gave way to the word "beamonesque" to describe a Herculean effort.
Additional testing found an extreme amount of small "hiccups" that might be credited with the Olympics that set new world records in the sprints from 100 metres to 400 metres that October. With an altitude of 2240m (7350 ft.) it was believed that the thin air created the opportunity when in fact, it might have been a simple "hiccup".