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Long jump is a sport of the track and field discipline in which athletes try to leap forward as far as possible. The event is known to be part of ancient Olympics, and has been a part of modern Olympics since its inception in 1896.

To perform a long jump, athletes sprint down a runway and takeoff from a wooden marker board which is about 8 inch wide, and travel as far as possible in the air, before landing into a sand pit. No part of the athlete's foot should cross the takeoff board, if it does, the jump is disqualified. After the jump, the traceable mark on the sand pit, closest to the takeoff board is used to measure the distance of the jump. Each athlete gets three attempts in each round.

Long jump competitions are part of all track and field events, the most popular of which are the Olympics and the World Championships. Competitions are conducted for both men and women in all events. The men's world record as of 2015 was set by Mike Powell from the United States, recording a 8.95 m jump, and the women's it is 7.52 m, set by Galina Chistyakova.

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Other Jump Events

• High Jump — a Track and Field event in which the participants attempt to jump over the highest bar.
• Triple jump — a track and field event where the participant attempts to hop, skip and jump the longest distance.
• Pole Vault — an athletics event in which a competitor leaps over a bar using a flexible pole.

Related Pages

• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports