Sydney, 10 December 1921
While track and field athletes in the Northern Hemisphere had already retired for the winter, the next season was kicking off in the Australian summer. The future Olympic champion, although an unknown talent in 1921, general labourer Anthony “Nick” Winter, jumped a world-leading result of 15.15 (49-8½) in his South Sydney club championships. The previous world lead, held by Olympic champion Vilho Tuulos of Finland, was surpassed by 13 centimetres.
Winter (born 1894) was a lone wolf in his event, as even the Australian Championships were not organized for the triple jump before 1930. Between 1921 and 1925, he ranked among the world’s top six six times and, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, won the Olympic gold medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Known as a heavy drinker, Winter died at the age of 61 from carbon monoxide poisoning. He had staggered into his bedroom, fallen, and broken a gas pipe.