No track and field event encapsulates the electrifying essence of athleticism quite like the long jump. However, a proposed alteration to its format threatens to strip away one of the event’s fundamental elements, much to the chagrin of Olympic icon Carl Lewis.
The contentious notion, put forth by World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon during a segment of the “Anything But Footy” podcast, suggests replacing the traditional take-off board with a broader take-off “zone” to eliminate foul jumps.
Presently, athletes’ jumps are measured from the board to their landing spot in the pit; any surpassing of the board renders the jump invalid.
“We’ll spend this year testing it in real-life circumstances with very good athletes. If it doesn’t pass testing, we’ll never introduce it,” Ridgeon asserted. “But at the same time, we are trying to work out ways of getting instant results so that you don’t have to wait 20 or 30 seconds before the result pops up, and how we speed up the whole thing.”
To avoid disrupting competitions leading up to the Paris Olympics, the concept may only be trialed during minor meets. The organization declined to comment on this possibility.
The objective behind this proposed change, as Ridgeon outlined, is to inject more drama into the event while potentially attracting new spectators, particularly following a third of jumps resulting in fouls at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
“Athletes stepping over the front of the take-off board — that doesn’t work, that’s a waste of time,” Ridgeon argued. “[The proposed format] means every single jump counts.”
However, for Lewis, a towering figure in the sport with nine Olympic gold medals and extensive long jump experience, the idea borders on the absurd:
“You’re supposed to wait until April 1st for April Fools [sic] jokes,” Lewis quipped on X, formerly Twitter.
He expanded on his reservations about the proposed alteration in a subsequent post:
“I guess It supports what I’ve been saying, that the long jump is the most difficult event in track and field. That would just eliminate the most difficult skill from the event. Just make the basket larger for free throws because so many people miss them.”
Lewis’ public disapproval began on Monday and has persisted throughout the week.
“The new board idea will not work and will not improve distances,” he asserted on Wednesday. “Every person who has ever jumped over 29 feet is still alive. Maybe you should start asking them how they did it and stop trying to do everything else.”
Lewis’ record-breaking jump of 8.87 meters in 1991 still holds third place on the all-time world list, and he clinched gold in the event at four consecutive Olympic Games. His sentiments found resonance among other accomplished athletes.
British long jumper Jazmin Sawyers, the reigning European indoor long jump champion, voiced her opposition to the idea in a series of Instagram Stories shared on Tuesday.
“Part of the skill is that you have to hit the board. If you remove that, it changes the event completely,” she contended. “I don’t think you’d be able to compare the old records to the new records.”
American sensation Tara Davis-Woodhall, fresh from securing a national title and a world lead with a leap of 7.18 meters (23 feet, 6.75 inches) on Feb. 16, echoed the sentiments against the proposed change expressed by 2023 World Champion Ivana Španović.
Španović’s plea urged World Athletics to consider athletes when contemplating such significant alterations, while Olympian-turned-premier coach Leroy Burrell advocated for prioritizing prize money over technological advancements like laser measurement.
How about not investing in BS tech like laser measurement and plowing that money into bigger prizes and purses that make the general public say, holy crap, that jumper better not foul, or he/she will be out a crap load of money.
— Leroy Burrell OLY (@BurrellLeroy) February 21, 2024
Given the substantial public outcry, it remains to be seen how World Athletics will persuade athletes to participate in testing the proposed idea.
