ATHLETIC

The long jump is an athletics (track and field) event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far from the take-off point as possible.

Competitors sprint down a runway (usually coated with the same rubberized surface as running tracks, crumb rubber also vulcanized rubber) and jump as far as they can from behind a foul line (commonly referred to as the "board", and usually defined by the trailing edge of a takeoff board embedded flush with the runway surface, or a painted mark on the runway) into a pit filled with finely ground gravel or sand. The distance traveled by a jumper is often referred to as the "mark" because it is the distance to the nearest mark made in the sand from the foul line. If the competitor starts the leap with any part of the foot past the foul line, the jump is declared illegal and no distance is recorded. At the elite level, a layer of plasticine is placed immediately after the board to detect this occurrence. Otherwise, an official (similar to a referee) will observe the jump and make the determination. The competitor can initiate the jump from any point behind the foul line; however, the distance measured will always be from the foul line. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the competitor to get as close to the foul line as possible.

Usually, each competitor has a set number of attempts to make his or her longest jump, and only the longest legal jump counts towards the results. Typically, competitors have three trial jumps with which to make their best effort. Higher level competitions are split into two rounds: trials and finals. In competitions containing a final round, only a select number of competitors are invited to return for further competition. The number of competitors chosen to return to the final round is determined before the start of the meet by a committee composed of coaches and officials. It is standard practice to allow one more competitor than the number of scoring positions to return to the final round. For example, if a given meet allows the top eight competitors to score points, then the top nine competitors will be selected to compete in the final round. Taking an extra competitor to the final round helps to allow that athlete to move into a scoring position if the competitor can improve on his or her best mark of the competition. Final rounds are viewed as an additional three jumps, as they do not have any priority to those scored in the trial round. The competitor with the longest legal jump (from either the trial or final rounds) at the end of competition is declared the winner. (For specific rules and regulations in United States Track & Field see Rule 185).

There are four main components of the long jump: the approach run, the last two strides, takeoff and action in the air, and landing. Speed in the run-up, or approach, and a high leap off the board are the fundamentals of success. Because speed is such an important factor of the approach, it is not surprising that many long jumpers also compete successfully in sprints. A classic example of this long jump / sprint doubling is performances by Carl Lewis.

The long jump is notable for two of the longest-standing world records in any track and field event. In 1935, Jesse Owens set a long jump world record that was not broken until 1960 by Ralph Boston. Later, Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters (29 feet, 2-1/2 inches) at the 1968 Summer Olympics at an altitude of 7,349 feet, a jump not exceeded until 1991. On August 30 of that year, Mike Powell of the United States, in a well-known show down against Carl Lewis, leapt 8.95 m (29.4 ft) at the World Championships in Tokyo, setting the current men's world record. Some jumps over 8.95 m (29.4 ft) have been officially recorded (8.99 m/29.5 ft by Mike Powell himself, 8.96 m/29.4 ft by Ivan Pedroso), but were not validated since there was either no reliable wind speed measurement available, or because wind speed exceeded 2.0 m/s. The current world record for women is held by Galina Chistyakova of the former Soviet Union who leapt 7.52 m (24.7 ft) in Leningrad in 1988.

The high jump is an athletics (track and field) event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of any devices. It has been contested since the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. Over the centuries since, competitors have introduced increasingly more effective techniques to arrive at the current form. Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) is both the indoor and outdoor world record holder in this event with jumps of 2.43 metres (7 ft 11.67 in) and 2.45 metres (8 ft 0.46 in), respectively. Sotomayor's record, set in 1993, is the longest standing in the history of the men's high jump. Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) has held the women's world record 2.09 metres (6 ft 10.28 in) since 1987, the longest-held record in the event.

The triple jump (sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump) is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, step and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a step and then a jump into the sand pit.

The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a modern Olympics event since the Games’ inception in 1896.

The current male and female world record holders are Jonathan Edwards of Great Britain, with a jump of 18.29 metres, and Inessa Kravets of Ukraine, with a jump of 15.50 metres.

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown. Such competitions are still part of the Scottish Highland Games, where the implement used is a steel or lead weight at the end of a cane handle.

Like other throwing events, the competition is decided by who can throw the ball the farthest. The men's hammer weighs 16 pounds (7.257 kg) and measures 3 feet 11 3⁄4 inches (121.5 cm) in length and the women's hammer weighs 8.82 lb (4 kg) and 3 feet 11 inches (119.5 cm) in length. Competitors gain maximum distance by swinging the hammer above their head to set up the circular motion. Then they apply force and pick up speed by completing one to four turns in the circle. In competition, most throwers turn three or four times. The ball moves in a circular path, gradually increasing in velocity with each turn with the high point of the ball toward the sector and the low point at the back of the circle. The thrower releases the ball from the front of the circle. The two most important factors for a long throw are the angle of release and the speed of the ball.

While the men's hammer throw has been in the Olympic Games since 1900, the IAAF did not start ratifying women's marks until 1995. Women's hammer throw was first included in the Olympics at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, after having been included in the World Championships a year earlier.

The current world record for the men's hammer was set by Yuriy Sedykh who threw 86.74 metres (284 ft 7 in) at the European athletics championships held in Stuttgart, West Germany in 1986.

The current world record for the women's hammer was set by Tatyana Lysenko who threw 77.80 metres (255 ft 3 in) in Tallinn, Estonia on 15 August 2006.