Lynn Davies is pictures at the National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace, London.
In 1968 Lynn Davies, the 1964 Olympic Champion, leapt 8.23m. whilst competing
in Berne to improve his British long jump record. He may have thought all looked
set fair for him to have an outside chance of retaining his Olympic title later that
year in Mexico. Four years earlier in Tokyo the teacher from Nantymoel, Glamorgan,
had just qualified on his last jump for the final and thus went in a fortunate
man - very fortunate as events turned out because the weather was very "British"
in Japan for the final. It was wet and windy and Davies took full advantage,
saving his winning leap to his fifth round when the wind momentarily died down
(he was placed third at that moment). He cleared 8.07m. (a then British record)
to win the gold and was without doubt the best man on the day.
In 1966 he also claimed a gold medal at the European Championships, beating his
great Soviet rival Igor Ter-Ovanesyan (3rd in Tokyo) and took the Commonwealth title
that same year. But it was the Olympics that really mattered. However, he knew it was
the U.S.A. jumpers, Ralph Boston in particular (2nd in Tokyo), who presented the biggest
threat and he was right. This time, though, it was the rarefied air of Mexico, not the wind
and rain, that came to the aid of the winner and that winner wasn't Boston (3rd) but one
Bob Beaman.
The rest is history: Beamon soared over 29 feet with his first jump. Lynn was
shell-shocked. Lynn failed to beat 8 metres and finished 9th. Just as Beamon's Olympic
record has lasted into this century so indeed did Davies' British record and despite the
shock of Mexico, Lynn was not destroyed by the experience. At the following year's
European Championships he leapt his Olympic-winning distance to finish 2nd be
hind Ter-Ovanesyan.Lynn's last championship medal came at the 1970 Commonwealth
Games in Edinburgh where he took the Gold medal for Wales with a leap of 8.06m,
thus retaining the title he had won four years earlier in Kingston, Jamaica. (GH).
Men's Long Jump Final.
Olympic Games 1964.
1. Lynn DAVIES GBR 8.07m.
2. Ralph BOSTON USA 8.03m.
3. Igor TER-OVANESYAN SOV 7.99m.
4. Wariboko WEST NGR 7.60m.
5. Jean COCHARD FRA 7.44m.
6. Luis Felipe ARETA SPA 7.34m.
7. Mike AHEY GHA 7.30m.
8. Andrzej STALMACH
Men's Long Jump.
European Athletics Championships 1966.
1. Lynn DAVIES GBR 7.98m.
2. Igor TER-OWANESJAN URS 7.88m.
3. Jean COCHARD FRA 7.88m.
4. Leonid BARKOWSKI URS 7.74m.
5. Rainer STENIUS FIN 7.68m.
6. Hermann LATZEL FRG 7.59m.
Men's Long Jump Final.
Commonwealth Games 1966.
1. Lynn DAVIES WAL 26' 3"
2. John MORBEY BER 25' 11"
3. Wes CLAYTON JAM 25' 8
4. Alan CRAWLEY AUS 25' 7
5. Vic BROOKS JAM 25' 1"
6. Phil MAY AUS 24' 7"
Men's Long Jump Final.
European Athletics Championships 1969.
1. Igor Ter OVANESYAN USSR 8.17m.
2. Lynn DAVIES GBR 8.07m.
3. Tonu LEPIK URS 8.04m.
4. Klaus BEER GDR 8.03m.
5. Leonid BARKOWSKI URS 8.02m.
6. Max KLAUSS GDR 8.00m.
Men's Long Jump Final.
Commonwealth Games 1970.
1. Lynn DAVIES WAL 8.06m.
2. Phil MAY AUS 7.94m.
3. Alan LERWILL ENG 7.94m.
4. Mike AHEY GHA 7.78m.
5. Dave NORRIS NZL 7.64m.
6. Dave WALKER
Men's Long Jump Final.
European Athletics Championships 1971.
1. Max KLAUSS GDR 7.92m.
2. Igor Ter OVANESYAN URS 7.91m.
3. Stanislaw SZUNDROWICZ POL 7.87m.
4. Lynn DAVIES GBR 7.85m.
5. Mauri MYLLYMAKI FIN 7.85m.
6. Reijo TOIVONEN FIN 7.85m.