50 years ago, Bob Beamon made history. Where does his performance rank on list of greatest singular sports performances?

selkie wrote:

Swimming's most Beamonesque record was not by Phelps or Spitz, but rather Mary T. Meagher's 2:05.96 200 butterfly at Brown Deer, Wisconsin. That record lasted for 19 years even though you can find youtube video of it and see a whole bunch of things she got wrong from a technique standpoint from a modern understanding of biomechanics. It remains a competitive time at the Olympic level today, and Madame Butterfly would have probably had a 2:04 or lower in her if someone had fixed her turns.

I'd say no one is going to touch Ladecky's 800m free LC anytime soon.

typical speculation on Letsrun wrote:

It's funny that people quickly mention the 125 feet or so of wind that might help a long jumper down the runway, but then still think 26.2 miles (138,336 feet) of tailwind shouldn't matter for Ryan Hall to consider his marathon PB to be 2:04:58...

I'm not sure how converting everything to feet helps your point but a marathon is 138,435 feet not 138,336!

that Mike Powell/Carl Lewis duel in Tokyo in '91 was one for the ages-I appreciated it at the time, and having 2 greats go at it sure helped push Powell over the top---surprising that it has been 27 years also, but a good article explaining why jumps is not getting the best athletes; I will be hard to see 2 guys doing 29 feet in the same meet that is for sure

-I thought that Kevin Young's 46.78 400m H in Barcelona was amazing also considering that he hit the last hurdle-that record I feel is more likely to fall sooner than the long jump-given that in Eugene this spring on a wet day we had a 47 flat...

troll under a bridge wrote:

Amazing how an entire life can be defined by one moment.

Allison Stokke's life was defined by one photograph.

I'd vote for Bekele's 10K WR with splits of 13:09 and then a solo 13.08. That record is pretty secure.

Hardloper wrote:

typical speculation on Letsrun wrote:

It's funny that people quickly mention the 125 feet or so of wind that might help a long jumper down the runway, but then still think 26.2 miles (138,336 feet) of tailwind shouldn't matter for Ryan Hall to consider his marathon PB to be 2:04:58...

I'm not sure how converting everything to feet helps your point but a marathon is 138,435 feet not 138,336!

Hardloper, you always seem to get super technical about my posts. I didn't convert 26.2188 miles but just 26.2. Why didn't you add the decimals to the actual feet if you're concerned with the number?! Lighten up. You understand what i'm saying.

My point was that Hall had a tailwind 1,100 + times longer than a typical long jumper would, but people still want to recognize his 2:04:58 as a legit PB while a long jumper (or sprinter's) performance doesn't count. Boston doesn't even officially count but people still insist he's a 2:04 guy.

mexico results are dodgy from top to bottom.

ucla sprinters on roids,

windy long jump 3 to 5 meters per second.

gauges recording zero often beside a flag blowing like mad...

altitude way way over acceptable limits.

lewis 30 ft jump is the pinnacle,

beamon nowhere in sight.

look at beamon's second best jumps at sea level...

case closed.

mexico was a farce... overall.

girls on film wrote:

troll under a bridge wrote:

Amazing how an entire life can be defined by one moment.

Allison Stokke's life was defined by one photograph.

I still get "the photograph is now 10 years old, you'll be shocked how she looks now" clickbait ads around the Internet with her pole vault photo.

Bad Wigins, I agree with you about the wind.

But "You either know the record was 8.90, or you're nobody."? My biases: Bob Beamon spoke at the 1970 Jamaica HS Sports Awards assembly. I was thrilled to see the man in person and know that Larry Ellis, my HS coach that year, had also coached Beamon at Jamaica. So, yeah, I put Beamon on a pedestal. Met him much later at a race in Middletown, NY and he's a shy, very nice man.

So guess who didn't know what "8.90" meant when they finally put it up after finding a freakin' tape measure since the jump was beyond the fancy laser measuring device's range? Bob Beamon! He had to have Ralph Boston convert it for him! Does that make the man of the hour/decade a nobody?

Top 10 includes Matt Carpenter's Pikes Peak record.

That's an excellent article. Thanks. I've heard about the jump forever but it's great to learn the story behind it.

As to the comments about wind, altitude, etc., conditions alone can't explain why Beamon jumped so much farther than so many other jumpers who had to have jumped in equally favorable conditions.

SlowFatMaster wrote:

guess who didn't know what "8.90" meant when they finally put it up after finding a freakin' tape measure since the jump was beyond the fancy laser measuring device's range? Bob Beamon! He had to have Ralph Boston convert it for him! Does that make the man of the hour/decade a nobody?

All you're saying is before he was a star, he didn't know how far 8.90 was. So yes, he kind of was a nobody. And the moment he became famous, he knew 8.90! You draw that distinction very neatly for me indeed.

guy on olympic team = knows only imperial

legendary WR holder = knows metric!

besides, he gets a pass for competing in the AAU era which was still clinging to imperial even for races. There is not a jumper, runner or even jogger alive today who doesn't know how far 8.90m is, when the track has twenty-four 10-meter segments clearly marked off at every exchange zone. It's not even a matter of ignorance anymore, just bad habits and resistance to positive change.

Makes no sense to say that track events (outside 100m/200m) are "comparable", as they don't get dinked at some events due to "wind speed". Only throws and sprints have this problem. When the barometer is dropping, conditions are good, BUT there can be a wind.... And that's all IAAF counts? And only for limited events?

Estadio Olímpico wrote:

conditions alone can't explain why Beamon jumped so much farther than so many other jumpers who had to have jumped in equally favorable conditions.

False. Beamon, as the article said, was super-lucky to go right at the inflection point of barometer dropping, fitting in before the rains came gushing down 10-15 minutes later. Particularly in high altitude like Mexico City, this effect can be dramatic.

Sorry Jesse wrote:

We can only guess how far Emmiyan would have jumped, if he had the other advantages of natural talent and Western pharmaceuticals. He's probably the best, ever.

Implying that USSR athletes were "less doped" than his Americans colleagues...

longjack wrote:

mexico results are dodgy from top to bottom.

ucla sprinters on roids,

windy long jump 3 to 5 meters per second.

gauges recording zero often beside a flag blowing like mad...

altitude way way over acceptable limits.

lewis 30 ft jump is the pinnacle,

beamon nowhere in sight.

look at beamon's second best jumps at sea level...

case closed.

mexico was a farce... overall.

Yep, wipe all the records and start again.

longjack wrote:

mexico results are dodgy from top to bottom.

ucla sprinters on roids.

Jim Hines went to junior college in Oakland, not UCLA.

Tommie Smith, John Carlos and Lee Evans went to San Jose State, not UCLA.

Bob Beamon did not go to UCLA.

Great article on a subject that draws surprisingly little thoughtful analysis. Yiannis Kouros and his 30 years at the top is also extraordinary. Ultimately a great athlete in a flow state always surprises, it’s best to enjoy the view, it may not come again.

Everyone who thinks in inches and feet: their opinion doesn't count? Wow you're so smart. So smart that your opinion is worthless too, you worthless jack ass.