Editing Track and field (section)

===Jumping===

{{Main|Long jump}}
[[File:Naide Gomes.JPG|thumb|[[Naide Gomes]] in the jumping phase of the event]]
The long jump is one of the oldest track and field events, having its roots as one of the events within the [[ancient Greek pentathlon]] contest. The athletes would take a short run up and jump into an area of dug up earth, with the winner being the one who jumped farthest.<ref name="AOG_book">{{Cite book |last=Swaddling |first=Judith |title=The Ancient Olympic Games |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=0-292-77751-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientolympicga00swad |year=1999}}</ref> Small weights ([[Halteres (ancient Greece)|Halteres]]) were held in each hand during the jump then swung back and dropped near the end to gain extra momentum and distance.<ref name=Miller68>Miller, Steven G. (2004). ''Ancient Greek Athletics''. Pg. 68. Yale University. {{ISBN|0-300-11529-6}}.</ref> The modern long jump, standardised in England and the United States around 1860, bears resemblance to the ancient event although no weights are used. Athletes sprint along a length of track that leads to a jumping board and a [[sandpit]].<ref name=IAAFLJ>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9464.html Long Jump – Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809105019/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9464.html |date=9 August 2010 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> The athletes must jump before a marked line and their achieved distance is measured from the nearest point of sand disturbed by the athlete's body.<ref name=AboutLJ>{{cite web |last=Rosenbaum |first=Mike |url=http://trackandfield.about.com/od/longjump/p/Introlongjump.htm |title=Introduction to the Long Jump |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021102115/http://trackandfield.about.com/od/longjump/p/Introlongjump.htm |archive-date=21 October 2009 |url-status=usurped |website=About |access-date=10 May 2010}}</ref>

The athletics competition at the first Olympics featured a men's long jump competition and a women's competition was introduced at the [[1948 Summer Olympics]].<ref name=IAAFLJ /> Professional long jumpers typically have strong acceleration and sprinting abilities. However, athletes must also have a consistent stride to allow them to take off near the board while still maintaining their maximum speed.<ref name=AboutLJ /><ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9459.html Long Jump – Is it for me?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112120300/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9459.html |date=12 January 2012 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> In addition to the traditional long jump, a [[standing long jump]] contest exists which requires that athletes leap from a static position without a run-up. A men's version of this event featured on the Olympic programme from 1900 to 1912.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/347292/long-jum long jump]. [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] (2010). Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> {{As of|2024}}, the men's long jump world record is held by [[Mike Powell (long jumper)|Mike Powell]], jumping 8.95 meters in 1991.<ref>{{cite web |title=One giant leap: Mike Powell's long jump record endures 30 years later |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2021/08/29/mike-powells-long-jump-record-endures-30-years-later/ |website=[[The Orange County Register]]|date=30 August 2021 }}</ref>

====Triple jump====
{{Main|Triple jump}}
[[File:Triple jump Athletissima 2012.ogv|thumb|[[Olga Rypakova]] performing a [[triple jump]] in 2012]]
Similar to the long jump, the triple jump takes place on a track heading towards a sandpit. Originally, athletes would hop on the same leg twice before jumping into the pit, but this was changed to the current "hop, step and jump" pattern from 1900 onwards.<ref name=IAAFTJ>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9466.html Triple Jump – Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809105440/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9466.html |date=9 August 2010 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> There is some dispute over whether the triple jump was contested in ancient Greece: while some historians claim that a contest of three jumps occurred at Ancient Games,<ref name=IAAFTJ /> others such as [[Stephen G. Miller]] believe this is incorrect, suggesting that the belief stems from a mythologised account of [[Phayllus of Croton]] having jumped 55 ancient [[Foot (length)|feet]] (around 16.3&nbsp;m).<ref name=Miller68 /><ref>[http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TP018EN.html Phayllos of Kroton] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823160941/http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TP018EN.html |date=23 August 2011 }}. Ancient Olympics. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> The [[Book of Leinster]], a 12th-century Irish manuscript, records the existence of ''geal-ruith'' (triple jump) contests at the [[Tailteann Games (ancient)|Tailteann Games]].<ref>McCormack, Mike. [http://www.nassauaoh.com/reports/national-historian/ James Connolly – The Athlete] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507170525/http://www.nassauaoh.com/reports/national-historian/ |date=7 May 2010 }}. ''National Historian''. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref>

The men's triple jump competition has been ever-present at the modern Olympics, but it was not until 1993 that a women's version gained World Championship status and went on to have its first Olympic appearance three years later.<ref name=IAAFTJ /> The men's [[standing triple jump]] event featured at the Olympics in 1900 and 1904, but such competitions have since become very uncommon, although it is still used as a non-competitive exercise drill.<ref>Lee, Jimsun (8 April 2010). [http://speedendurance.com/2010/04/08/the-importance-of-the-standing-triple-jump/ The Importance of the Standing Triple Jump] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611105716/http://speedendurance.com/2010/04/08/the-importance-of-the-standing-triple-jump/ |date=11 June 2010 }}. Speed Endurance. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> The Current world record for the Men's triple jump is {{convert|18.29|m|ftin|abbr=off|sp=us}} held by Jonathan Edwards. The current women's world record is {{convert|15.67|m|ft|sp=us}}4 3/4in) held by Yulimar Rojas.

====High jump====
{{Main|High jump}}
[[File:High School Track and Field Athlete in the High Jump.jpg|thumb|A high school student attempting to [[high jump]] while using the [[Fosbury Flop]] technique]]
The first recorded instances of high jumping competitions were in [[Scotland]] in the 19th century.<ref>[http://www.spikesmag.com/disciplines/jumping/highjump.aspx High Jump] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113022016/http://www.spikesmag.com/disciplines/jumping/highjump.aspx |date=13 November 2010 }}. ''[[Spikes Magazine]]''. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> Further competitions were organised in 1840 in England and in 1865 the basic rules of the modern event were standardised there.<ref name=IAAFHJ>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9458.html High Jump – Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809105433/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9458.html |date=9 August 2010 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> Athletes have a short run up and then take off from one foot to jump over a horizontal bar and fall back onto a cushioned landing area.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rosenbaum |first=Mike |url=http://trackandfield.about.com/od/highjump/a/highjumpbasics.htm |title=Introduction to the High Jump |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106033918/http://trackandfield.about.com/od/highjump/a/highjumpbasics.htm |archive-date=6 January 2010 |url-status=usurped |website=About |access-date=10 May 2010}}</ref> The men's high jump was included in the 1896 Olympics and a women's competition followed in 1928.

Jumping technique has played a significant part in the history of the event. High jumpers typically cleared the bar feet first in the late 19th century, using either the [[Scissors-Jump|Scissors]], [[Eastern cut-off]] or [[Western roll]] technique. The [[straddle technique]] became prominent in the mid-20th century, but [[Dick Fosbury]] overturned tradition by pioneering a backwards and head-first technique in the late 1960s – the [[Fosbury Flop]] – which won him the gold at the [[Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics|1968 Olympics]]. This technique has become the overwhelming standard for the sport from the 1980s onwards.<ref name=IAAFHJ /><ref>Gillon, Doug (15 May 2009). [http://www.heraldscotland.com/how-a-flop-turned-fosbury-into-a-legend-1.910158 How a flop turned Fosbury into a legend] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418234526/http://www.heraldscotland.com/how-a-flop-turned-fosbury-into-a-legend-1.910158 |date=18 April 2012 }}. ''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]''. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> The [[standing high jump]] was contested at the Olympics from 1900 to 1912, but is now relatively uncommon outside of its use as an exercise drill.

====Pole vault====
{{Main|Pole vault}}
[[File:Pole vault9.jpg|thumb|[[Anna Giordano Bruno]] releases the pole after clearing the bar in [[pole vault]]]]
In terms of sport, the use of poles for vaulting distances was recorded in [[Fierljeppen]] contests in the [[Frisia]]n area of Europe, and vaulting for height was seen at [[gymnastics]] competitions in Germany in the 1770s.<ref name=IAAFPV>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9454.html Pole Vault – Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809105428/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9454.html |date=9 August 2010 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> One of the earliest recorded pole vault competitions was in [[Cumbria]], England in 1843.<ref>Turnbull, Simon (13 June 2009). [https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/kate-dennison-it-helps-being-a-little-bit-crazy-1704055.html Kate Dennison: 'It helps being a little bit crazy'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701020351/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/kate-dennison-it-helps-being-a-little-bit-crazy-1704055.html |date=1 July 2017 }}. ''[[The Independent]]''. Retrieved on 10 May 2010.</ref> The basic rules and technique of the event originated in the United States. The rules required that athletes do not move their hands along the pole and athletes began clearing the bar with their feet first and twisting so that the stomach faces the bar. [[Bamboo]] poles were introduced in the 20th century and a metal box in the runway for planting the pole became standard. Landing mattresses were introduced in the mid-20th century to protect the athletes who were clearing increasingly greater heights.<ref name=IAAFPV />

The modern event sees athletes run down a strip of track, plant the pole in the metal box, and vault over the horizontal bar before letting go of the pole and falling backwards onto the landing mattress.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rosenbaum |first=Mike |url=http://trackandfield.about.com/od/polevault/p/Intropolevault.htm |title=Introduction to the Pole Vault |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107003010/http://trackandfield.about.com/od/polevault/p/Intropolevault.htm |archive-date=7 January 2010 |url-status=usurped |website=About |access-date=10 May 2010}}</ref> While earlier versions used wooden, metal or bamboo, modern poles are generally made from artificial materials such as [[fibreglass]] or [[carbon fibre]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Rosenbaum |first=Mike |url=http://trackandfield.about.com/od/polevault/ss/illuspolevault_2.htm |title=An Illustrated History of Pole Vault |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106034246/http://trackandfield.about.com/od/polevault/ss/illuspolevault_2.htm |archive-date=6 January 2010 |url-status=usurped |website=About |access-date=10 May 2010}}</ref> The pole vault has been an Olympic event since 1896 for men, but it was over 100 years later that the first women's world championship competition was held at the [[1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships]]. The first women's Olympic pole vaulting competition occurred in 2000.<ref name=IAAFPV />