Triple jump

History

Historical sources on the ancient Olympic Games occasionally mention jumps of 15 meters or more. This led sports historians to conclude that these must have been a series of jumps, thus providing the basis for the triple jump. However, there is no evidence for the triple jump being included in the ancient Olympic Games, and it is possible that the recorded extraordinary distances are due to artistic license of the authors of victory poems, rather than attempts to report accurate results.

The triple jump was a part of the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens, although at the time it consisted of two hops on the same foot and then a jump. In fact, the first modern Olympic champion, James Connolly, was a triple jumper. Early Olympics also included the standing triple jump, although this has since been removed from the Olympic program and is rarely performed in competition today. The women's triple jump was introduced into the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

In Irish mythology the geal-ruith (triple jump), was an event contested in the ancient Irish Tailteann Games as early as 1829 BC.

Approach

The athlete sprints down a runway to a takeoff mark, from which the triple jump is measured. The takeoff mark is commonly a physical piece of wood or similar material embedded in the runway, or a rectangle painted on the runway surface. In modern championships a strip of plasticine, tape, or modeling clay is attached to the far edge of the board to record athletes overstepping or "scratching" the mark, defined by the trailing edge of the board. These boards are placed at different places on the run way depending on how far the athlete can jump. Typically the boards are set; (furthest from the pit to closest) 40ft, 32ft, and 24ft. These are the most common boards you see at the high school and collegiate levels, but boards can be placed anywhere on the runway. There are three phases of the triple jump: the "hop" phase, the "bound" or "step" phase, and the "jump" phase. These three phases are executed in one continuous sequence.

Hop

The hop starts with the athlete jumping from the take off board on one leg, which for descriptive purposes will be the right leg . The objective of the first phase is to hop out, focusing all momentum forward. The hop landing phase is very active, involving a powerful backward "pawing" action of the right leg, with the right take-off foot landing heel first on the runway.

Step

The hop landing also marks the beginning of the step phase, where the athlete utilises the backward momentum of the right leg to immediately execute a powerful jump forwards and upwards, the left leg assisting the take-off with a powerful hip flexion thrust. This leads to the familiar step-phase mid-air position, with the right take off leg trailing flexed at the knee, and the left leg now leading flexed at the hip and knee. The jumper then holds this position for as long as possible, before extending the knee of the leading left leg and then immediately beginning a powerful backward motion of the whole left leg, again landing on the runway with a powerful pawing action.

Jump

The step landing forms the beginning of the take-off of the final phase (the jump), where the athlete utilises the backward force from the left leg to take off again. The jump phase is very similar to the long jump although most athletes have lost too much speed by this time to manage a full hitch kick, and most use a hang or sail technique.

When landing in the sand-filled pit, the jumper should aim to avoid sitting back on landing, or placing either hand behind the feet. The sand pit usually begins 13m from the take off board for male international competition, or 11m from the board for international female and club-level male competition. Each phase of the triple jump should get progressively higher, and there should be a regular rhythm to the 3 landings.

Foul

A "foul", also known as a "scratch," or missed jump, occurs when a jumper oversteps the takeoff mark, misses the pit entirely, does not use the correct foot sequence throughout the phases, or does not perform the attempt in the allotted amount of time (usually about 90 seconds). When a jumper "scratches," the seated official will raise a red flag and the jumper who was "on deck," or up next, prepares to jump.

It shall not be considered a foul if an athlete, while jumping, should touch or scrape the ground with his/her "sleeping leg". Also called a "scrape foul", "sleeping leg" touch violations were ruled as fouls prior to the mid-1980s. The IAAF changed the rules following outrage at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, when Russian field officials in the Men's Triple Jump ruled as foul 8 of the 12 jumps made by two leading competitors (from Brazil and Australia) thus helping two Russian jumpers win the Gold and Silver medals.

Records

Outdoor

Note: As in all track-and-field events, results cannot count towards records if they are Wind assisted (>2.0 m/s).

All-time top 25 athletes

  set prior to IAAF acceptance of indoor events as equivalent with outdoor events (in 2000)

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 17.75m:

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 15.04m:

Note

Men

Season's bests