Carl Lewis calls proposed format change in long jump an April Fools’ joke

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A proposed format change could shake-up the long jump at major track and field competitions, but will the idea take flight? That’s the big question for those involved in the sport right now, notably nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis.

 

The new format, which has been put forward by World Athletics chief executive Jon Ridgeon, could see athletes jump from a take-off zone, rather than a take-off board, essentially doing away with foul jumps.

 

It would mean that jumps are measured from where an athlete takes off to where they land in the pit.

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“If you take the long jump at the world championships in Budapest last summer, a third of all jumps were no-jumps,” Ridgeon said on an episode of the Anything But Footy podcast, which was released on Monday.

 

“Athletes stepping over the front of the take-off board – that doesn’t work, that’s a waste of time … <the>proposed format] means every single jump counts, it adds to the jeopardy of the competition, the drama of the competition.”

Ridgeon added that World Athletics will test the concept this year with “very good athletes,” explaining that “if it doesn’t pass testing, we’ll never introduce it.”