At the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, American athlete Bob Beamon (pictured) achieved a distance of 8.90 m (29.2 ft) in the long jump event, setting a world record that stood for 23 years.

1968 Summer Olympics

Multi-sport event in Mexico City, Mexico

The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad and officially branded as Mexico 1968, were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Latin America,…

Bob Beamon

American long jumper (born 1946)

Robert Beamon is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping 8.90 m, he broke the existing record by a margin of 55 cm and his world record stood for almost 23 years until it was…

Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's long jump

The men's long jump was one of four men's jumping events on the Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics program in Mexico City. The long jump took place on 18 October 1968. Thirty-five athletes from 22 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at…

Men's long jump world record progression

The men's long jump world record progression lists records ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) starting in 1912. The inaugural record was the 7.61 m performance by Peter O'Connor in 1901.