Long jump is a fairly familiar sport to students in the Philippines, as it is taught in physical education. However, few people know about the historical origins of the long jump as well as the related regulations when competing in the Olympics. Let’s explore with XGAME the concept of the long jump and the information you need to know about this sport.

What is a Long Jump?

This is one of the important categories in athletics; athletes in this long jump are required to have a healthy foundation, strong muscles, great endurance, and the ability to react quickly and flexibly.

A long jump is considered successful when the athlete runs to gain momentum, stops at the right jump line, and performs the jump correctly into the sand pit, with the longest distance possible.

Together with the Triple Jump, when these two events are combined, they create a sport called Horizontal Jump. The long jump, triple jump, and horizontal jump were all included in the Olympic Games, becoming official events since 1896.

The inspiration for these three events came from the exercises of the ancient Greeks. By 1948, these events began to be applied to female athletes participating in the competition.

Historical Origin of Long Jumping

The long jump is one of the five combined events known in ancient Greece, used to train soldiers, not simply for its sportive nature. Moving between different terrains, including rivers and streams, requires soldiers to jump over.

In ancient times, athletes also had to carry a weight weighing from 1 to 4.5 kg. These weights were likened to the weapons that soldiers had to carry when they went to war to jump long. The running distance of the ancient long jump was not as long as it is now, and the sand pits were not filled with sand, but were a hole dug for the competition occasion.

In ancient times, when competing in this long jump – the sport considered the most difficult to perform – athletes also listened to music, and according to Philostratus, the creator of athletics.

The long jump was “transformed” early on and became one of the important competition categories of the modern Olympics. By 1914, Dr. Eaton Stewart proposed to allow women to compete, but it was not until 1948 that female athletes were officially allowed to compete in the long jump to compete in the Olympics.

Long Jump Rules

Long Jump Runway Dimensions

The runway for athletes will be from 40 meters to 45 meters long and about 1.25 meters wide, with a 13-meter mark at the end before touching the long jump wooden take-off board.

Because this track is used for the triple jump event, this 13-meter mark appears. And from this point onwards, triple jumpers will start to be scored, because this is the position where the athlete performs 3 long jump steps.

For the long jump, the track will be exactly 40 or 45 meters long. Points for long jumpers are scored as soon as they touch the wooden take-off board. However, this long jump wooden take-off board is only used and scored for triple jump, while in long jump, the score is scored at the white line right in front of the sand pit.

Sand Pit Size for Jumping

The length of the sand pit is 10 meters, and the width is from 2.75 meters to 3 meters. According to the standards, the surface of the sand pit must be level with the surface of the runway.

The sand in the pit also has its own standards; the humidity must reach a certain level, and there must be no objects. They are likely to affect the athlete’s long jump performance, affect the safety of the competitor.