Olympic record distance8.9 m
9.6 hundredthsStatue of Liberty heights
89Chicken wing lengths
Bob Beamon, Mexico City 1968; stood as world record until 1991
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Olympic Long Jump Record
8.90 meters of pure horizontal flight/Sports
Bob Beamon's long jump at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics shattered the existing world record by 55 centimeters, a margin so absurd that fellow competitor Igor Ter-Ovanesyan said 'compared to this jump, we are as children.' Beamon leaped 8.90 meters, a record that stood as the world record for 23 years until Mike Powell jumped 8.95 m in 1991. Beamon's Olympic record, however, still stands.
Measurements
World record distance8.95 m
212 millionthsMarathon distances
29.8Celery stalks
35.8Uncooked spaghetti noodles
Mike Powell, Tokyo 1991 World Championships
Approach speed (elite)10.5 m/s
21Escalators
1.57School zone speeds
7.1 thousandthsSounds in water
~38 km/h at the takeoff board for top jumpers
Flight time9 tenths s
357 millionthsTV episodes
750 millionthsHalftime shows
21.6Film frames
Approximate airborne duration for an 8.9 m jump
Takeoff height (center of mass)1.2 m
6.6 hundredthsBowling lane lengths
1.41Cricket bats
21.1House keys
Approximate peak height of center of mass during flight