This Olympic Long Jump Record Still Stands After 56 Years

The Olympic Games are considered the most prestigious international event in the world and are comprised of Summer Games and Winter Games. These games are held every four years, a tradition that dates back to the ancient games in Olympia, Greece. Both the Summer and Winter Games were once held in the same year but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) changed this in 1992 to the current format.

Athletes compete in a myriad of events – at the most recent 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, there were 329 medal events – and both Olympic and World Records are often set and broken. In 2021, American Sydney McLaughlin, a hurdler and sprinter, broke the world record for the 400-meter hurdles, and in 2022, she did it again, breaking her previous record. Yet, some records still stand after several decades.

The longest unbroken record in the Summer Olympics belongs to American Bob Beamon, a track and field athlete who set the bar in the men's long jump. At the 1968 Games in Mexico City, Beamon flew 8.9 meters in the air. The record stood for around 23 years as a world record as well, until it was broken in the 1990s by American Mike Powell. However, Beamon's record still stands as an Olympic record since Powell didn't break it at the games.

The longest unbroken Summer Olympic record belongs to German Ilona Slupianek. In 1980, Slupianek shot a shot put 22.4 meters in the air. Her record-breaking achievement came three days before Russian Nadezhda Olizarenko set a new standard in the women's 800-meter run.

To compile this list of the oldest currently standing Olympic records, 24/7 Tempo consulted Olympic-related sources. These include Metro.co.uk, SportStar, and Athletics Weekly. For more Olympic content, click here to read about athletes with the most Summer Olympic medals ever.

Folks have been attempting to fly ever since the dawn of time. Sadly, gravity will only allow people to jump so far or high. People like Bob Beamon have trained their entire lives to beat gravity. In 1968, Beamon seemingly figured out the trick to jump as far as possible. While in Mexico City for the Summer Olympics, Bowman took flight. He went 8.9 meters in the air before coming down.

Beamon broke both the Olympic and world records when he completed the jump and his Olympic record hasn't been broken. However, in 1991, 23 years after Beamon took flight, athlete Mike Powell broke Beamon's record at the World Championships in Tokyo. Beamon still has his name in the record books. Fans argue that the most impressive part about Beamon's jump is that it wasn't wind-aided whatsoever.

Ilona Slupianek showed the world what she could do with a shot put during the 1980 Olympic games in Moscow. Slupianek threw the shot put 22.41 meters, a women's record that still stands today. She also beat Nadezdha Olizarenko by three days to hold the claim as the woman with the oldest Summer Olympic record.

A women's shot put weighs around 9 pounds. Each toss is done with the ball starting close to the face of the person throwing it. Rather than cocking the arm back like when throwing a baseball, a shot put is tossed by extending your arm right away to ensure no injuries occur. There's no telling how much longer Slupianek's Olympic record will stand, but she's been the proud holder for more than 40 years.

There's nothing like watching an 800-meter run at the Olympics. The event forces athletes to avoid going all out at first, like in the 100-meter dash, while still forcing them to keep a fast pace since it's a short race. Three days after Ilona Slupianek set the women's shot put record, Nadezhda Olizarenko etched her name in history. She ran the 800 meters in the amazing time of 1:53.43.

It's somewhat shocking to fans that Olizarenko's 800-meter time has withstood the test of time the way it has. Countless people around the world spend their days running. The training and recovery methods athletes have had access to over the last 40 years have grown exponentially. That just goes to show how amazing of a runner Olizarenko was during her career.

No Olympic event better determines the best overall athlete in the world better than the heptathlon. The women's competition is comprised of the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter run, long jump, javelin throw, and 800-meter run. Those competing showcase their talent in every discipline and are awarded points based on how well they do. Various formulas were created to give athletes a fair chance.

In 1988, Jackie Joyner-Kersee arrived in Seoul and put on a spectacle for fans to watch. She finished with a total of 7,291 points, which stands both as an Olympic and world record. For the last 36 years, competitors have done their best to match Joyner-Kersee whenever they take the field.

There's no arguing Jackie Joyner-Kersee had one of the most amazing Olympics in 1988. Along with setting the women's heptathlon record, she also set the women's long jump record. Joyner-Kersee flew 7.4 meters in the air until she finally came down. It comes as no surprise that Joyner-Kersee played high-level basketball in college while also chasing her dreams in track and field.

Between 1980 and 1985, Joyner-Kersee starred for the UCLA Bruins women's basketball team. She took a redshirt year in the 1983-1984 year to focus on preparing for the Olympics. Throughout her Olympic career, Joyner-Kersee won three gold medals. Joyner-Kersee was named the Greatest Female Athlete of All-Time by Sports Illustrated. She continued working in track and field once she retired from competition.

People have competed to see who can throw something the farthest for centuries. One Summer Olympic event that showcases this ability is the discus throw. Events like the discus throw can be traced back to the ancient games in Greece. However, nobody has had as successful of a discus throw during the Olympics as Martina Hellmann. She threw a discus 72.3 meters before it came crashing down. The 1988 games in Seoul were record-setting games for many women.

Many Olympic fans consider the 200-meter run one of the most electric moments of the games. It's longer than the 100-meter dash, which means there's more time for comebacks. In 1988, Florence Griffith Joyner completed one of the most remarkable 200-meter runs in history. She concluded with a time of 21.34 seconds for her dash, which stands as both an Olympic and world record.

In an interesting twist, she married Al Joyner, the brother of the formerly mentioned Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Griffith Joyner won three gold medals and one silver medal at the 1988 games. Once her athletic career concluded, Griffith Joyner was named the Co-chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports by former President Bill Clinton. Sadly, she passed away in 1998 at the age of 38.

Her record still stands today, as athletes continue to aim to remove her name from the book and add theirs.

The hammer throw is another example of people seeing how far they can toss something. Contestants don't throw an actual hammer, but rather a metal ball attached to the end of a wire. The participant steps in circles, growing momentum, before ultimately releasing the hammer and seeing how far it goes. Like the other throwing events in the Olympics, form and fundamentals are absolutely paramount.

In 1988, Sergey Litvinov made history with one of his throws. His hammer flew for a total of 84.8 meters in the air before crashing back to Earth. During his Olympic career, Litvinov won a gold medal and a silver medal for his efforts. He died in Sochi at the age of 60 from injuries sustained from a bicycle accident.

The last of the Olympic records set in 1988 was done by the Soviet Union women's 4×400 meter track team. The group consisted of Tatyana Ledovskaya, Olga Nazarova, Mariya Pinigina, and Olha Bryzgina. These women completed their race in 3:15, which became an Olympic record that's still standing. Unlike most track and field events, participants must rely on their teammates to show up for them in the 4×400 meter run.

Individuals can only do so much in a team event. If you have a weak runner on your team, that means the rest of the squad will have to make up for it. Bryzgina had the best career out of the four women to set the record. In addition to winning the gold medal in the women's 4×400, she won the gold medal in the individual 400-meter run.

One of the most challenging events in track and field is the triple jump. Rather than run full speed ahead and leap into the air, contestants must take two skips before their final thrust. Because of that, the distances achieved in the triple jump are much larger than that of the regular long jump, and the athlete has an excess of momentum carrying them forward.

In 1996, Kenny Harrison took quite the leap during the triple jump. He landed 18.09 meters from where he took off. The most impressive fact about Harrison's jump is that the wind was coming directly towards his face while he was jumping. Had the wind not been there, Harrison would have leapt even further.

Fans around the world love tuning in for the 400-meter run. Athletes must complete one trip around the track before the winner runs through the tape. While one trip around the track seems easy, there's more that goes into it. Contestants must maintain a pace they can conceivably do for at least one minute.

In 1996, Marie-Jose Perec ran a race that nobody in the Olympics has topped… yet. She completed the 400-meter run in 48.25 seconds. Perec has one of the most impressive Olympic resumes in the world. The only medals she's ever won have been gold. She's taken home two gold medals in the 400-meter run and one in the 200-meter run. Since retiring, Perec was elected as the President for the governing body of Guadalupe, her home country.

The high jump is the best event for showcasing who the best in the world is at leaping for the stars. One major difference from regular jumping and high jumping is athletes lead with their back to clear a pole. Contestants make a large loop before jumping off of one leg. There's a large mat underneath the competitors when they land so they don't hurt themselves.

The greatest Olympian high jumper is Charles Austin. During the 1996 games, Austin cleared a pole 2.39 meters off the ground. That translates to more than 7.5 feet. Austin didn't just come into the event and start off by clearing 2.39 meters. Instead, he cleared smaller heights before reaching his ultimate mark. Once he retired from competing, Austin opened up his own sports performance center in Texas. For more Olympic content, click here to read about why athletes can't make any money during the games.