Jonathan Edwards

[Bright Halo]

Jonathan Edwards world record of 18.29m set in world championships of 1995 still stands.
Will it ever be Broken?
That’s 27 years of improved equipment (running spikes), training techniques and nutrition knowledge.
If you watch Edwards jump he just seems to glide with very little heavy impact at each transition whilst continuously accelerating. Others seem to thump really hard onto the deck losing speed.
The contrast is amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgHYUDoG8_A

[Slowboathome]

I used to know someone who was the producer for an advert he was in.

Apparently he took ages faffing around, fussing with his warm-up, they were getting a bit impatient with him.

But when he finally ran, she said it was like nothing she'd ever seen. Incredible to watch, apparently.

[Punctilio]

I knew he went to Eurosport a while back, but I thought he might be
a pundit in the BBC's marathon summer athletics coverage [ will it ever end ? ].

But being white, male and straight, he'd be as welcome as a turd in a swimming pool.

[Unreal]

It's a fantastic record but of course it will eventually be broken. The next best is only 8cm short.

What might keep it as the record for longer is that it seems to be a very specialised event with relatively few competitors.

What interested me was that Edwards had a pretty modest physique. He never looked that powerful like some of the jumpers. Has anyone identified a particular advantage he possessed such as speed?

[BigMon]

Punctilio said:

I knew he went to Eurosport a while back, but I thought he might be
a pundit in the BBC's marathon summer athletics coverage [ will it ever end ? ].

But being white, male and straight, he'd be as welcome as a turd in a swimming pool.

And that's N,P&E full house.

[Countdown]

Punctilio said:

I knew he went to Eurosport a while back, but I thought he might be
a pundit in the BBC's marathon summer athletics coverage [ will it ever end ? ].

But being white, male and straight, he'd be as welcome as a turd in a swimming pool.

Very true. That's why, when you look around in the media .White Straight Males are heavily underrepresented.

[Randy Winkman]

Unreal said:

It's a fantastic record but of course it will eventually be broken. The next best is only 8cm short.

What might keep it as the record for longer is that it seems to be a very specialised event with relatively few competitors.

What interested me was that Edwards had a pretty modest physique. He never looked that powerful like some of the jumpers. Has anyone identified a particular advantage he possessed such as speed?

I know that as has been pointed out above, he was actually super fast but just didn't look made for running quickly. Other than that I guess the triple jump is just an extreme example of proving that it's actually technique that matters and in the case of triple jump it's also the case of just getting it right on the day. I could be wrong but I think that getting the step right is the secret of a really big jump.

Michael Johnson has said that real elite athletes don't just need to natural physical gifts to succeed and the training/support they need that star quality that helps them do even better that you'd expect and win on the day. He picked out a few examples including Jessica Ennis and Daley Thompson.

Anyone remember when Edwards wouldn't compete on Sundays?

[andyA700]

Unreal said:

It's a fantastic record but of course it will eventually be broken. The next best is only 8cm short.

What might keep it as the record for longer is that it seems to be a very specialised event with relatively few competitors.

What interested me was that Edwards had a pretty modest physique. He never looked that powerful like some of the jumpers. Has anyone identified a particular advantage he possessed such as speed?

I think Edwards was arround 1m 82 and 71kg. He was incredibly quick on the runway and very balanced. Most sprinters and long/triple jumpers are tall and muscular, however, ex World record holder in the 100m (1983 9.93 sconds) Calvin Smith was a very similar build to Edwards, interestingly, he was one of the very few sprinters from that era to have no doping allegations surrounding him. Edwards was the same. I have just seen that Kim Collins of St Kitts was also a similar build and currently holds the men's O40's WR at 9.93 seconds.

[Bright Halo]

andyA700 said:

Unreal said:

It's a fantastic record but of course it will eventually be broken. The next best is only 8cm short.

What might keep it as the record for longer is that it seems to be a very specialised event with relatively few competitors.

What interested me was that Edwards had a pretty modest physique. He never looked that powerful like some of the jumpers. Has anyone identified a particular advantage he possessed such as speed?

I think Edwards was arround 1m 82 and 71kg. He was incredibly quick on the runway and very balanced. Most sprinters and long/triple jumpers are tall and muscular, however, ex World record holder in the 100m (1983 9.93 sconds) Calvin Smith was a very similar build to Edwards, interestingly, he was one of the very few sprinters from that era to have no doping allegations surrounding him. Edwards was the same. I have just seen that Kim Collins of St Kitts was also a similar build and currently holds the men's O40's WR at 9.93 seconds.

It was a combination of his speed down the runway and excellent technique. I doesn't lose momentum during the jumping stages and actually looks like he gains it. Others thump into the ground with great power but lose the momentum and it is as if the are starting again at each stage.

[FatboyKim]

I was once staying at a Holiday Inn in Birmingham, went down in the lift for breakfast which stopped at the next floor down, and in to the lift walked Jonathon Edwards, Paula Radcliffe and Colin Jackson staying there for an athletics event in Birmingham.

I know... cool story bro

[andyA700]

Bright Halo said:

andyA700 said:

Unreal said:

It's a fantastic record but of course it will eventually be broken. The next best is only 8cm short.

What might keep it as the record for longer is that it seems to be a very specialised event with relatively few competitors.

What interested me was that Edwards had a pretty modest physique. He never looked that powerful like some of the jumpers. Has anyone identified a particular advantage he possessed such as speed?

I think Edwards was arround 1m 82 and 71kg. He was incredibly quick on the runway and very balanced. Most sprinters and long/triple jumpers are tall and muscular, however, ex World record holder in the 100m (1983 9.93 sconds) Calvin Smith was a very similar build to Edwards, interestingly, he was one of the very few sprinters from that era to have no doping allegations surrounding him. Edwards was the same. I have just seen that Kim Collins of St Kitts was also a similar build and currently holds the men's O40's WR at 9.93 seconds.

It was a combination of his speed down the runway and excellent technique. I doesn't lose momentum during the jumping stages and actually looks like he gains it. Others thump into the ground with great power but lose the momentum and it is as if the are starting again at each stage.

He did indeed seem to glide in the jump phase, he was so smooth.

[Portofino]

Divine intervention goes a long way in the triple jump.

[Ben Jk]

I remember he used to be really religious (to the point his interviews used to annoy me) but then lost his faith completely?.

[coldel]

Im not familiar with the technique, but looking at the video, the distance after that last jump in the sequence is crazy how far he goes to the casual onlooker. I wonder if it shows where he gains the advantage? Agreed with above, he literally seems to barely brush the ground but gets amazing distance of each hit.

[Stan the Bat]

Saw that live at the time and I was mesmerised as he hardly seemed to touch the track.

[Kawasicki]

I had a go at a few athletic events in my teens and did fairly well. Except for the triple jump. It’s a great event to bring a cocky kid down to earth, literally.

[andyA700]

Kawasicki said:

I had a go at a few athletic events in my teens and did fairly well. Except for the triple jump. It’s a great event to bring a cocky kid down to earth, literally.

At my last year at school, aged 16, I won two events at the sportsday - triple jump and javelin. I reckon the only reason I won those, was that hardly anyone could do either. I can also say that triple jump really hurt my ankles, so I never did it after leaving school.

[anonymous-user]

Bright Halo said:

andyA700 said:

Unreal said:

It's a fantastic record but of course it will eventually be broken. The next best is only 8cm short.

What might keep it as the record for longer is that it seems to be a very specialised event with relatively few competitors.

What interested me was that Edwards had a pretty modest physique. He never looked that powerful like some of the jumpers. Has anyone identified a particular advantage he possessed such as speed?

I think Edwards was arround 1m 82 and 71kg. He was incredibly quick on the runway and very balanced. Most sprinters and long/triple jumpers are tall and muscular, however, ex World record holder in the 100m (1983 9.93 sconds) Calvin Smith was a very similar build to Edwards, interestingly, he was one of the very few sprinters from that era to have no doping allegations surrounding him. Edwards was the same. I have just seen that Kim Collins of St Kitts was also a similar build and currently holds the men's O40's WR at 9.93 seconds.

It was a combination of his speed down the runway and excellent technique. I doesn't lose momentum during the jumping stages and actually looks like he gains it. Others thump into the ground with great power but lose the momentum and it is as if the are starting again at each stage.

And incredibly strong too. There's a video from a coach on youtube I found years ago (I started off as a jumper and moved to sprints and jumping) where he analyses Edwards' technique and comes to the conclusions above but with the added point of his strength is immense for his size. The second phase of a triple jump puts huge force through the legs so you need the perfect balance between high speed and the strength to control it coupled with the complex technique. Too much speed and you'll not have the strength to control it, not enough speed and you'll just get slower though the phases and resort to jumping rather than gliding the speed. Then the paradox of being light, strong and fast. He just had the perfect balance of everything.

[Kermit power]

Bright Halo said:

Jonathan Edwards world record of 18.29m set in world championships of 1995 still stands.
Will it ever be Broken?

One record he doesn't hold is his old school record!

Steve Ojomoh, the ex-England rugby player was at school with him, and used to beat him in the triple jump back then!

[roboxm3]

sebdangerfield said:

And incredibly strong too. There's a video from a coach on youtube I found years ago (I started off as a jumper and moved to sprints and jumping) where he analyses Edwards' technique and comes to the conclusions above but with the added point of his strength is immense for his size. The second phase of a triple jump puts huge force through the legs so you need the perfect balance between high speed and the strength to control it coupled with the complex technique. Too much speed and you'll not have the strength to control it, not enough speed and you'll just get slower though the phases and resort to jumping rather than gliding the speed. Then the paradox of being light, strong and fast. He just had the perfect balance of everything.

A mate of mine competed for GB at junior level and trained with a few of the senior squad including Jonathan Edwards; he said that JE's power was incredible for a guy of size/stature...I can't remember exact numbers but something daft like 180kg power-cleans comfortably...