JONATHAN EDWARDS hopes his triple jump world record remains his until the day he dies.
Thirty years ago today, the Brit hopped, skipped and jumped his way to gold at the 1995 World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg.
REUTERSJonathan Edwards made triple jump history thirty years ago[/caption]
REUTERSEdwards set a new world record at the 1995 World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg[/caption]
Edwards shattered the previous world record with an astonishing 18.29 metres leapRex
PAEdwards hopes his record will stand until teh day he dies[/caption]
His unprecedented mark of 18.29 metres – or 60 feet – was the best ever in history, smashing the previous best of 17.97 metres set by American Willie Banks in June 1985.
It is one of the longest-standing world records in track and field for both male and female competitions.
It is a moment that has withstood the test of time, proving untouchable at the next eight summer Olympics and 14 world championships.
Bermudan Brian Wellman could only muster 17.62 metres as he finished second, coming 67 centimetres behind.
Prior to his incredible jump, which was his second attempt of the 12-man final, he had actually gone 18.16 metres with the first, which was a world record in itself.
Edwards, now 59, is the only British athlete to hold a world record in an Olympic-distance event and it is unlikely that anyone is going to surpass him any time soon.
Speaking on an episode of PUMA’s Go Wild podcast series, the London-born, Devon-raised ace – who became Olympic champion in Sydney 2000 – hopes the record lasts for a long, long time.
Asked by former hurdling world-record holder Colin Jackson how he would feel if someone else went further, Edwards said: “I’d be upset, for sure.
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REUTERSJonathan Edwards’ historic triple jump saw him win the 1995 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award[/caption]
“I mean, it’s been so long. It’s almost part of me. Athletics, in essence, is about the demonstration of human capability. And, of course, your own capability.
“The excitement of breaking a personal best is always the biggest excitement.
“And when that personal best is the best there has ever been, it’s a remarkable thing. It’s a mindblowing thing.
“So, for that to go and not to be the world-record holder, but I don’t think that will be easy.
“I’d hoped it would get to 30 years.
“It’s more than I could ever hope to achieve in sport.
“I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine, but yeah, it will be a sad day. I mean it would be pretty cool to be on my deathbed and still be a world-record holder.
“I’ll take that. Provided I know I am on my deathbed. Just a thought, to die as world-record holder would be pretty cool.”
Edwards, who describes himself as a “late developer”, famously declared “he would never jump on a Sunday” due to his religious beliefs – though he later “lost my faith”.
He might have the world record yet the triple jump record at his secondary school is “held by a guy called Stephen Ojomoh who went on to play rugby for England, he was like 6ft 3in when he was 13 or 14”.
Jonathan Edwards
In his career, he won Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth titles outdoors — a tremendous feat.
On his physical appearance as an athlete – he was nicknamed Titch for being small and slight – he said: “There was nothing remarkable about me.
“I remember a newspaper article once. One of the journalists described me as looking more like a geography teacher than a triple jumper.
“So, there’s nothing about me physically which would make you think that I was going to be a world-record holder.
“And I think all of my competitors looked at me and thought: ‘God, if Edwards can do it, surely we can do it, because what’s special about him?’
“When people say to me, what was it that made you so good at triple jumping? I say: ‘Well, I wasn’t a jumper. I was a sprinter. And I could bounce.’
“I could maintain my speed on the contacts. So my final jump in the world record was seven metres.
“So, my ability was perhaps different from everybody else’s and I think that’s probably why it hasn’t been broken.”
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