Amazing Moments in Olympic History: Bob Beamon

On Oct. 18, 1968, Bob Beamon set a track and field world record at the Mexico City Olympic Games that stood for almost 23 years. The then 22-year-old jumped 29 feet, 2.5 inches, which destroyed the previous world record of 27 feet, 4.75 inches.

The athlete took 19 running steps before leaping six feet into the air. Beamon said he felt like he was suspended for an hour before he finally landed. His 8.9-meter jump was so long that the official measuring device, which only reached 8.6 meters, wasn't even long enough to measure it. The jump had to be measured manually, and it took half an hour before Beamon knew just how far he had flown.

Beamon wasn't able to convert his result, which was measured in meters, into feet and inches, so he had no idea how far he had jumped. When a teammate informed him, he was so astounded at what he had done that experts claim he had a catalectic seizure, which is brought on by nerves and overexcitement.

As he collapsed to the ground in tears, Beamon realized that he had jumped one foot, 10.5 inches farther than his personal best. He was the first person to ever have reached 29 feet in his event. He entered the competition as a relatively unknown long jumper from Jamaica, N.Y., and he left Mexico City as a glorified Olympic gold medalist and world record holder. More than 40 years later, his Olympic record still stands.

Naturally some people were skeptical. Critics said Beamon's jump was aided by the thin air in Mexico City, a fast runway, and a wind of two meters per second, which is the maximum allowable speed for a record.

But those defending Beamon asked: If the conditions were so perfect, why was Beamon the only athlete to perform so well?

Oddly enough, Beamon barely qualified for the Olympic final. Despite being the favorite in his event and winning 22 of his 23 meets that year, he fouled in his first two jumps. He settled for a "safe" jump on his third and final chance, a jump that he knew would be just long enough to qualify.

The 6-3 athlete also almost didn't get his chance to jump because of a much-talked-about boycott of the Games by African-American athletes. Unimpressed by the progress of civil rights in the United States, the African-Americans were going to make a point by not participating in the Games. Fortunately for Beamon, the boycott never happened.

At the Games, however, Beamon and others did make symbolic protests to bring attention to the civil rights movement. Tommie Smith and John Carlos are remembered for raising their fists in the air as a Black Power salute on the Olympic medal podium, but Beamon made a silent protest as well. He wore black socks (no shoes) on the medal stand, which symbolized black oppression.

After making his gold-medal-winning jump at the Games, Beamon didn't have much time to celebrate. He had to get back to class at the University of Texas at El Paso. He had grown up in a rough neighborhood, and during his childhood, attending college seemed out of the question. It became important to him to obtain a college degree. He eventually graduated from Adelphi University in 1972 with a degree in sociology.

The Olympian retired from competition before the 1972 Games. He was inducted in 1977 into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. When the U.S. Olympic Committee Hall of Fame was established in 1983, he was one of the first athletes to be inducted. The Olympian returned to the Games in Beijing last year to honor the 40th anniversary of his jump.

Although Mike Powell beat Beamon's world record in 1991 at the world championships, the now 63-year-old Beamon still holds the Olympic record for the long jump. And Beamon will go down in history as the person who shattered the previous record by almost two feet.