It’s October 18, 1968. The first three long jumpers in the Olympic final in Mexico City have stepped over. Now it’s time for 22-year-old American Bob Beamon.
He is one of the favorites, but was about to miss the final. After two tramples in the qualifiers, he made a safety jump in the third attempt and despite missing the plank, he landed at 8.19, the qualifiers’ second longest jump. Countryman Ralph Boston had the longest, who at this time shared the world record of 8.35 with the Russian Igor Ter-Ovanesian, another of the 16 jumpers in the final field.
So when Beamon from New York with number 254 on the competition line is preparing for his first jump, the officials responsible for the measurement have not yet had to act.
He has high speed. The approach run is perfect. The plank meeting as well. His 191 centimeter long body flies at unimaginable heights. A photographer captures him in a classic image. After landing, Beamon bounces out of the pit.
– Unfortunately I did not see the hope, even though I was so close. I was tying my clogs when he jumped. I was next in line, says Lars-Olof Höök.
53 years have passed, but the memories of the classic Olympic final are still strong. Lars-Olof Höök has turned 76 years old and is sitting on the landing at Ekerö and telling DN by phone. He won seven straight Swedish Championship golds and had the Swedish record of 7.90, but has become at least as famous as the man who jumped after Bob Beamon.
It took an eternity with athletics measurements measured before Höök got to make his first jump in the Olympic final. The resurrection was great. The officials could hardly believe their eyes either. After optical measurement, they took out the measuring tape to confirm the length of Beamon’s giant shot.
– Bob Beamon’s classic 8.90 in Mexico City 1968.
Photo: TT
Then Sven “Plex” Pettersson in his classic TV report was able to proclaim in astonishment: “Eight. And. Ninety. Eight. And. Ninety”.
– I remember exactly what I was thinking. If he can jump 8.90, it must be fantastic conditions. Now I have my chance to jump over eight meters. I did not feel depressed by his hopes because I had no ambitions for a prominent position. To be honest, I was probably quite happy to have made it to the final, says Lars-Olof Höök, who a few months earlier jumped the Swedish record at the DN gala, a jump that was exactly one meter shorter than Beamon’s world record.
I remember exactly what I was thinking. If he can jump 8.90, it must be fantastic conditions. Now I have my chance to jump over eight meters
But some dream limit the Hellas jumper did not manage to pass. 7.77 was his only approved jump in the Olympic final and he had to settle for 14th place.
The 8.90 jump ruined all the excitement. Höök describes how his good friend, the reigning Olympic champion, the British Lynn Davies, became completely blank in the eyes. In addition, a rainstorm with strong winds pulled in over the stadium. No one could compete. Beamon made 8.04 in the second round and then jumped no more. German Klaus Beer surprisingly snatched the silver before Ralph Boston.
Höök believes that several good circumstances contributed to the record jump:
Mexico City is located at an altitude of just over 2,000 meters and the air resistance was less than on the lowland track.
For the first time, all-weather courses were used in Olympic contexts.
The tailwind at the jump measured the maximum allowed 2.0.
– And so he got to the fullest of his life. He gets one to a colossal height in the jump. When you run so fast, it usually becomes more that you fly straight ahead, says Höök.
– Lars-Olof Höök ended his athletics career at the age of 24. Later he worked as an economist at the aid organization Sida.
Photo: Elin Åberg
Beamon slog his personal record by over half a meter. He improved the world record by 55 centimeters. He won the Olympic final by 71 centimeters. Ninety-eight came to be called “the hope of the century”, but it did not happen.
At the Tokyo World Cup in 1991, two Americans fought a memorable long jump duel. Carl Lewis jumped 8.91 in too strong a wind, but Mike Powell countered with 8.95 and erased Beamon’s 23-year-old world record.
As an Olympic record, however, it stands at 8.90 and it is by far the oldest.
In the 2000s, the American Dwight Phillips is the one who jumped the longest with his 8.74 from 2009. The longest jump of the year is the Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou with 8.60.
Lars-Olof Höök believes that Powell’s listing will also be beaten and that some jumper will fly over nine meters.
– But it may take a while. Right now, it does not seem like anyone is around, says Höök, who already the year after the Olympic final ended his career only 24 years old to later work as an economist at the aid organization Sida.
– I was at the European Championships the year after the Olympics, but failed and then I lost the desire, he says.
53 years later one of the most classic moments in Olympic history, Höök looks forward to following the Swedish long jumper Thobias Montler’s hunt for medals.
– He’s so incredibly confident. I think he can pinch a bronze, but if he is among the top six, it is brilliant, says Höök.
– Lars-Olof Höök believes that Bob Beamon’s Olympic record will stand for a while longer. Right now, there does not seem to be anyone nearby, ”he says.
Photo: Elin Åberg