Long Jump Athletes

A dominant sprinter and long jumper, Carl Lewis has won ten Olympic medals, nine of them gold. From 1981 to 1991, he topped the world rankings in the 100 m, 200 m and long jump events, slowly starting to lose his dominance thereafter, eventually retiring in 1997. Currently a businessperson, he has also appeared in films and television productions.

The first to score over 7,000 points in the heptathlon, Jackie Joyner-Kersee is considered by many as one of the greatest female athletes ever. While in school, she excelled in sports such as volleyball, basketball, and track, and also did well in studies. She later won three Olympic golds medals.

Bob Beamon is a former American track and field athlete who won the gold medal for the long jump at the 1968 Olympics. He created a world record in the process of winning the gold medal; the record was broken by Mike Powell almost 23 years later. Beamon was inducted into United States Olympic Hall of Fame.

Galina Chistyakova is a former athlete best known for representing the Soviet Union in the Olympic Games, European Championships, World Indoor Championships, and European Indoor Championships, winning a bronze medal, one silver medal, one gold medal, and six medals, respectively. In 1988, Chistyakova reached 7.52 metres in the long jump, creating a new world record which she continues to hold.

English track and field athlete Mary Denise Rand made history by becoming the first woman from her country to earn a track and field Olympic gold medal. The long jumper also has a Commonwealth gold to her credit and has been named a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

The great-grandson of English footballer Jock Rutherford, Greg Rutherford had a brief stint with Aston Villa football club before he focused on athletics. The Milton Keynes athlete won a gold at the 2012 London Olympics, while his 8.29m jump at the 2016 Rio Olympics won him a bronze medal.

A 2-time Olympian, retired long jumper Robert Emmiyan has represented both the USSR and Armenia internationally. The 4th-best long jumper in the history of the sport, he has been a European Championship gold medalist and a World Championship silver medalist. He lost a part of his family in the 1988 Armenian earthquake.

Stefanie Reid is a track and field para athlete. She represented Canada at the 2008 Paralympic Games, where she won a bronze medal. She then represented Great Britain at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games, winning a silver medal in both the events. Stefanie Reid has also won a gold medal at the 2014 European Championships and 2017 World Championships.

Khaddi Sagnia is a Swedish athlete who specializes in the long jump. She competed in the first Youth Olympic Games where she won a gold medal in the triple jump. She also took part in the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships where she won a bronze medal in the long jump final.

Grigoris Lambrakis was a Greek physician, politician, and track and field athlete. He played an important role during the Second World War as a prominent member of the Greek resistance to the occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers. After the war, Grigoris Lambrakis went on to become a popular anti-war activist.

Former track and field athlete Fiona May initially represented the UK and then Italy in long jump. She has two Olympic silver medals to her credit and is a three-time World Champion. Her daughter, Larissa Iapichino, too is an athlete, who specializes in hurdles and long jump.

Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova is a Belarusian athlete who specializes in long jump. She is best known for winning a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. She also won a silver medal at the 2019 European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.