Triple Jump at the Olympics
The triple jump event is one of the four jumping events contested as a part of the track and field discipline at the Olympics. The men's event has been a part of the Games since the first Olympics in 1896. The women's event was added to the Olympics only recently at the 1996 Atlanta Games. A standing triple jump event was also conducted in 1900 and 1904 but was discontinued.
Willie Banks, triple jump world record holderIn the early days, the event was commonly called the hop, skip and jump (triple-saute on the french Olympic program). The winner of this event at the first Olympic Games was James B Connolly of the United States. As the triple jump was the first final contested at these Games, he also became the first Olympic champion of the modern Olympic Games. Connolly's winning style, which was acceptable at the time, was to initially take two hops before the jump, instead of a hop, a step then jump.
Viktor Saneyev is the most notable athlete in the men's event, winning the gold medal three times and also a silver medal. In its short history, Françoise Mbango Etone of Cameroon has been the most successful woman thus far winning the gold medal twice, in 2004 and 2008.
As of July 2024, the current Olympic record of 18.09m (59 ft 4 in) for the men's event is held by Kenny Harrison of the United States, which was set during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. For the women's event, the record is 15.67 m (51 ft 4+3⁄4 in) set by Yulimar Rojas in 2021.
Olympic Triple Jump Trivia
- The first three place-getters in the triple jump event at the Paris 2024 Olympics were representing Spain, Portugal and Italy, though all were originally from Cuba.
Related Pages
- About Track and Field at the Olympics
- See more on the Greatest T&F Athletes at the Olympics.
- A discontinued Olympic event the Standing Triple Jump
- List of Olympic Sports
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