Jonathan EDWARDS

To set a world record during a major championship is a memorable achievement, to do so twice is extraordinary, but to do so in consecutive jumps is probably unique. In many ways triple-jumper Jonathan Edwards is probably unique. Certainly his performance at the 1995 World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg was, for not only did he better his own world record twice, in doing so he became the first triple jumper in history to legally leap over 18m. and the first to legally better 60ft. And they were his opening two jumps of the final. With his distinctive execution of the three phases (hop, step & jump) Edwards brought a different approach to the event.

Usually, during a contest, it was the early jumps that were his best. They had to be because such were the technical difficulties of his method his strength was soon sapped. His speed in the air was remarkable, more like a giant striding sprinter than a jumper bounding through the three phases. He started the memorable day by smashing his own world record of 17.98m. which he had set in Salamanca, Spain earlier in the year with a leap of 18.16m.

His second attempt was an even more sensational 18.29m. (60ft 1/4in.) (Indeed with that jump he added a fourth phase as can be seen in the photo above - a celebration leap.) The other remarkable thing about Edwards is, it could be said that his performance at the European Cup in Lille almost two months earlier was even better ! For there that he jumped 18.39 metres and 18.43 metres. Alas for him both were wind assisted and invalid for record purposes. 1995 was without doubt an unforgettable year for he also won the B.B.C. Sports Personality of the Year. (George Herringshaw)

Men's Triple Jump Final. World Athletics

Championships 1999