Beamon, Bob (1946– )

US athlete. His leap of 8.90 m/29 ft 2 in in the long jump final at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City represents one of the great achievements in the history of sport, beating the previous world record by a remarkable 55 cm/21 in. Prior to the Games his best leap was 8.33 m/27 ft 4 in and after them he never exceeded 8.20 m/26 ft 11 in. For many years it seemed doubtful that his record would ever be broken, but in 1991 at the World Championships in Tokyo, US athlete Mike Powell jumped 8.95 m/29 ft 4 in.