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The Long Jump seems to have more than its fair share of iconic figures in the sport. Think of the likes of Jesse Owens, Bob Beamon, Carl Lewis, Mike Powell – coincidently all US athletes – and the latest in that line has been Dwight Phillips.

Phillips’ final international meeting was the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich last Thursday (29) and although the four-time World champion will have mixed memories of his last competition, he was honoured with a special presentation by IAAF President Lamine Diack, himself a former long jumper.

Phillips’ distance of 7.53m in Zurich was a long, long way from his personal best of 8.74m from 2009 which places him equal fifth on the all-time list with only Powell, Beamon, Lewis and Armenia’s Robert Emmiyan ahead of him.

For a man who legally jumped farther than 8.20m in no less than 70 competitions during a senior international career that stretched back 14 years, it was not the way he would have liked to have bowed out, but Phillips will be remembered not as eighth place in his last competition but for his triumphs at the 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2011 World Championships – only Sergey Bubka and Lars Riedel have won more gold medals in the same individual event – as well as victories at the 2004 Olympic Games and 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

“I would have liked to have had a better result but, never mind, I enjoyed my last competition and Zurich is an appropriate place to end my career,” reflected Phillips on Thursday night.

“What will I do after athletics? I live in Atlanta and I have a video production company. We do photography, videography and commercials and I'm really involved in that when I'm not training. We work with recognisable brands in the entertainment and corporate arenas.”

More time for family life also beckons for Phillips, who has two sons aged six and seven.

“I do want to spend a lot more time with my boys. There are just a lot of sacrifices you have to make (to be an elite athlete). I also work with The Leap of Faith Community Outreach which is an organisation with the purpose of helping people live in the community.”

It was good to see Phillips competing at all in 2013 after suffering a serious Achilles problems last year, which saw him have surgery and miss the entire 2012 season.

Many athletes in a similar situation would have hung up their spikes last summer but that wasn’t what Phillips wanted to do.

“After my injury last year it was a blessing for me to make it to the (World Championships) final in Moscow. It was devastating not going to London for the Olympics,” he added.

"Due to the fact I tore my Achilles and I knew I had an automatic place for the World Champs this year, I just decided in my mind that I wanted to go out of the sport on my own terms: competing and not injured.”

Moscow was the seventh consecutive World Championships for Phillips, who made his first appearance in Edmonton 2001 and won a bronze medal in Osaka 2007. Along with 800m runner Khadevis Robinson, that makes him the most prolific US male athlete in this respect.

“What’s kept me going for so long is that I absolutely love track and field. I’ve been doing it since I was eight.”

A hiatus to his early career came when he was hit by a motorcycle, driven by a friend of his brother, while playing in the street in his home town of Decatur at age 14 and broke both of his legs.

Phillips spent many months in casts, eight months in rehabilitation and it was almost two years before he recovered fully. "My legs were very weak. I guess just overcoming adversity, that's how I've been my entire life,” he joked in an interview with USA Today last year.

Once back on his feet, he showed enough talent as a sprinter and triple jumper – he can boast of a 100m best of 10.06 and a Triple Jump best of 16.41m, and finished third in the latter event at the 1996 US Junior Championships as an 18-year-old – to earn a scholarship to the University of Kentucky, where he spent the first two years of his college career before switching to Arizona State University.

The rest, as they say, is history, with Phillips first coming to international attention when he made the final of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where he finished seventh.

Phillips' only regret about his career is that he never got closer to Mike Powell’s World record of 8.95m, although it was something that he knew was beyond him this summer.

“I've accomplished all the major accolades in winning the Olympics and World Championships. The only thing I'm really missing is the World record,” added the ever-smiling Phillips when asked to look back on his career.

“I’ve had the opportunity to watch the greats like Sebastian Coe, Carl Lewis and Edwin Moses. They really inspired me with their longevity to be the best I could possibly be. Hopefully I’ve inspired many people too, who can follow in my footsteps.

“Hopefully, I left a great legacy and will be remembered like other big long jumpers like Carl Lewis,” commented Phillips. And it is highly likely he will.

I WORKED THE LONG JUMP AT THIS MEET THE IS ONLY THE SECOND TIME THAT A PERSON HAS JUMPED 28 FEET AND LOST A MEET....

Dwight Phillips isn’t ready to retire yet. At the 35th Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field on Sunday (7 June), the 2003 and 2005 World and 2004 Olympic Long Jump champion sailed to a career best of 8.74m to move into a tie for fifth on the all-time performer list with the world’s longest jump since 1991.

The Prefontaine Classic is a Grand Prix status meeting as part of the2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour.

The 8.74m effort was a turnaround from 2008 when the 31-year-old Phillips contemplated retirement after being slowed by a malady of injuries that included a torn abdominal muscle, knee problems and Achilles tendonitis. Phillips cut his season short in July after placing fourth in the U.S. Olympic Trials, one place away from a berth on the U.S. team for Beijing.

“I think the blessing was not making the Olympic team because I was able to rest my body,” Phillips said. “I had a lot of rest and didn’t do any competitions. And I had a lot of time to reflect and ask `Do you really want to do this again. I lost my motivation and now it’s fun again. I want to have fun, win lose or draw.”

Sunday’s IAAF World Athletics Tour meeting named in honour of legendary American distance runner Steve Prefontaine threw up a spirited competition between Phillips and reigning World and Olympic champion Irving Saladino (PAN) that produced the top two marks in the world this season.

The opportunity to be competitive with Saladino, who finished second at 8.63m, and redemption for a loss to the Panamanian in Hengelo on 1 June fuelled Philip’s incentive in the Prefontaine Classic.

“When he was beating me, I wasn’t at my best so I said ‘Man, I have to just hit my best and see what happens’,” Phillips said. “Now, I am competing at a high level and he is competing at a high level so I think it’s going to be a great competition between us. It was dull now it’s more energy.”

Phillips, who twice eclipsed his PB of 8.60m set in 2004 on Sunday, said he had confidence after a foul in the 8.80m range in the recent New York meet.

“Sometimes your worst disappointment can make you work harder as an athlete,” said Phillips, who ran a 100m PB of 10.06 in May. “I have been to the top and I’ve been to the bottom so I know what it takes to get there. I think that I am back on my upswing back to the top.”

Amid the rhythmic clapping from the crowd of 12,841, Phillips sensed something was special on his 8.74m jump in the third round into a 1.2 mps headwind on a cool and overcast afternoon. Phillips watched enthusiastically as officials measured the effort.

“I have a tendency of slowing down in my last few strides and I didn’t feel that at all so I knew it was going to be a pretty good jump,” Philips said.

Moving up the all-time list

Philips’ mark was the world’s furthest since Mike Powell’s World record of 8.95m in the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo. It was the ninth best performance of all time and moves him into a tie with Larry Myricks and Erick Walder for fifth on the all-time performer list behind Powell, Bob Beamon, Carl Lewis and Robert Emmiyan.

Phillips has said that all of the four jumpers ahead of him have offered encouragement for his pursuit of Powell’s World record in recent years.

“I am just humbled to be in that same category,” Phillips said. “It would just be a dream come true for me to jump further than them. From those guys, the Gods of the Long Jump, it was really humbling and that what inspires me.’’

Merritt flies over 300m

LaShawn Merritt also etched his name into the all-time lists on Sunday by clocking 31.30 sec in the rarely run 300m to lower his all-time sea level and U.S. soil mark of 31.31 run at Hayward Field in 2006.

The 2008 Olympic 400m gold medallist dominated a field that included Xavier Carter (31.93), Wallace Spearmon (32.14), Shawn Crawford (32.47) and David Neville (32.49). Merritt’s time trails only the mark of 30.85sec set by Michael Johnson in the altitude of Pretoria, South Africa in 2000. Merritt called the seldom run distance a perfect fit to his speed and strength.

“The three is right down my alley,” Merritt said. “You had great 400m runners and 200m specialists. I know I can run with the best in the world in the 200m in that field so I knew I was in the right position. I know that I have the strength of the quartermiler.”

Beaten by Burka but Barringer becomes third U.S. woman under 4:00 in 1500m

University of Colorado senior Jenny Barringer placed second in the women’s 1500m to Gelete Burka (ETH), 3:59.89 to 3:59.90, to join Mary Slaney and Suzy Favor as the only American women to run under four minutes in the metric Mile. Barringer, 22, is the youngest to accomplish the feat.

The mark by Barringer was the fastest by an American since 2002 and her sixth collegiate record of the season along with the Indoor Mile, 3000m, and 5000m and outdoors in the Steeplechase and 5000m.

Barringer made a furious charge down the homestretch moving from fourth place in the final 150m to pull even with the Burka at the line where both runners were cloth-lined by a highly held finish banner.

Barringer, the American record holder in the Steeplechase, will conclude her collegiate career in the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. on 11-14 June.

U.S. soil record for Cheruyiot in women’s 2000m

Vivian Cheruyiot (KEN) outduelled World 1500m champion Maryam Jamal (BAH) to win the women’s 2000m, 5:31.52 to 5:31.88, with both runners eclipsing the previous best time of 5:32.7 run in the U.S. set by Mary Decker at Hayward Field in 1984.

Olympic 1500m medallist Asbel Kiprop (KEN) just missed a U.S. soil record in the Bowerman Mile in the meet finale, clocking 3:48.50 to come up short of the record of 3:48.28 run by Daniel K. Komen (KEN) in the 2007 Prefontaine meet. Kiprop overtook compatriot Haron Keitany on the homestretch before slowing at the finish while waving to the crowd. Thirteen runners ran under four minutes to equal the 1995 meet for the highest number in meet history.

World 1500 and 5000m champion Bernard Lagat beat World 3000m Steeplechase recordholder Saif Saaeed Shaheen (QAT) to win the 3000m, 7:35.96 to 7:36.87, while Paul Koech (KEN) won the 3000m Steeplechase in 8:13.44.

Nick Symmonds took a home track victory in the 800m in 1:45.86 with World champion Alfred Yego in second in 1:46.21.

Maggie Vessey was a surprise winner in the women’s 800m in 2:00.18 with reigning Olympic champion Paula Jelimo (KEN) again running well below par, fading to last in the seven-runner field.

Rodgers speeds to 9.94 victory over Powell

Michael Rodgers sped to a decisive victory over former World record holder Asafa Powell (JAM) and Walter Dix in the 100m in a World leading 9.94. Powell and Dix were second and third, both timed in 10.07.

In the women’s 100m, Carmelita Jeter defeated Kerron Stewart (JAM) and Muna Lee to win the women’s 100m in a wind-aided 10.85, while in the women’s 400m, Sanya Richards ran to a dominant victory over Shericka Williams, 49.86 to 50.72 sec.

Perry and Jackson are the hurdle winners

2005 World champion Michelle Perry overtook Damu Cherry over the final two barriers in the women’s 100m Hurdles with both runners timed in 12.74 sec. Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (CAN) was third in 12.75. Olympic champion Dawn Harper failed to finish after falling after hitting the first two hurdles.

Another Helsinki World champion Bershawn Jackson won the 400m Hurdles in 48.38 sec to lead four hurdlers under 49 seconds with Jamaican Isa Phillips (48.55), Kerron Clement (48.73), Angelo Taylor (48.79) and Michael Tinsley (48.80).

Hoffa’s 21.89m secures the Shot Put

Reese Hoffa won the Shot Put with a sixth-round 21.89m to overtake Dan Taylor (21.29m). Reigning Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski (POL) finished third with 21.26m on his only non-fouled throw.

Beijing Olympic champion Stephanie Brown-Trafton won the women’s Discus Throw with 63.98m, and reigning World champion Betty Heidler (GER) was a 72.81m to 72.07m winner over Sultana Frizell (CAN) in the women’s Hammer Throw.

Funmi Jimoh won the women's Long Jump in a wind-aided 6.69m.

Russians Ivan Ukhov and Yaroslav Rybakov took the top two spots in the men’s High Jump at 2.34m and 2.31m, while Alhaji Jeng (SWE) won the Pole Vault at 5.51m in a competition where four of the seven competitors no heighted.

Kirby Lee for the IAAF

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Long Jump: the 28 Foot (8.53 Meters) Club

Adam Hornbuckle, Yahoo Contributor Network

Jun 26, 2011 "Share your voice on Yahoo websites. Start Here."

The gold standard in the men's long jump is 28 feet (8.53 meters). Bob Beamon first achieved the distance on his way to 29 feet 2 '½ inches (8.90 meters) at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Mexico. Since then, sixteen athletes have reached or surpassed 28 feet, unaided by wind, 114 times (104 times outdoors and 10 times indoors). Following is a review of the men who have jumped 28 feet or more:

Carl Lewis (United States) 34 Performances

Carl Lewis jumped 28 feet or more 29 times outdoors and five times indoors, for a total of 34, the most by any athlete. His career best, 29 feet 1'¼ inches (8.87 meters), came on August 30, 1991 in Tokyo, Japan. The third best performance of all-time outdoors, it earned Lewis the silver medal in the World Championships. His best indoor performance, 28 feet 10'¼ inches (8.79 meters), came on January 27, 1984 in New York, New York, and has since stood as the indoor world record and American records.

28 feet 3'½ inches (8.62 meters) (+0.80) Sacramento, California, 6/20/1981

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters) East Rutherford, New Jersey, 1/16/1982

28 feet '¾ inch (8.55 meters) New York, New York, 2/26/1982

28 feet 3 inches (8.61 meters) (+0.50) Los Angeles, California, 5/16/1982

28 feet 9 inches (8.76 meters) (+1.00) Indianapolis, Indianapolis, 7/24/1982

28 feet 1'¾ inches (8.58 meters) (0.00) Zurich, Switzerland, 8/18/1982

28 feet '¼ inch (8.54 meters) New York, New York, 1/28/1983

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters), (+1.00) Los Angeles, California, 5/15/1983

28 feet 10'¼ inches (8.79 meters) (+1.90) Indianapolis, Indianapolis, 6/19/1983

28 feet '¾ inch (8.55 meters) (+1.20) Helsinki, Finland, 8/10/1983

28 feet 10'¼ inches (8.79 meters) New York, New York, 1/27/1984 (WR-Indoor)

28 feet 7 inches (8.71 meters) (-0.40) Los Angeles, California, 5/13/1984

28 feet 7 inches (8.71 meters) (+0.10) Los Angeles, California, 6/19/1984

28 feet '¼ inch (8.54 meters) (-1.60) Los Angeles, California, 8/6/1984

28 feet 4'½ inches (8.65 meters) (+0.20) Brussels, Belgium, 8/24/1984

28 feet (8.53 meters) (+1.20) Houston, Texas, 5/4/1985

28 feet 3'½ inches (8.62 meters) (0.00) Brussels, Belgium, 8/30/1985

28 feet 5 inches (8.66 meters) (+0.80) Walnut, California, 4/26/1987

28 feet 4'½ inches (8.65 meters (+0.70) San Jose, California, 6/26/1987

28 feet 8'½ inches (8.75 meters) (+1.70) Indianapolis, Indianapolis, 8/16/1987

28 feet 5'½ inches (8.67 meters) (+0.40) Rome, Italy, 9/5/1987

28 feet 9 inches (8.76 meters) (+0.80) Indianapolis, Indianapolis, 7/18/1988

28 feet 7'½ inches (8.72 meters) (-0.20) Seoul, South Korea, 9/26/1988

28 feet (8.53 meters) (+0.30) Stockholm, Sweden, 7/3/1989

28 feet '¼ inch (8.54 meters) (+0.80) New York, New York, 7/22/1989

28 feet 4'½ inches (8.64 meters) (+1.70) New York, New York, 6/15/1991

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters), (+0.80) Tokyo, Japan, 8/29/1991

29 feet 1'¼ inches (8.87 meters) (-0.20) Tokyo, Japan, 8/30/1991 (CB)

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters), (+1.90) New York, New York, 5/24/1992

28 feet 5'½ inches (8.67 meters) (-0.70) Barcelona, Spain, 6/6/1992

28 feet (8.53 meters) (-0.10) New Orleans, Louisiana, 6/24/1992

28 feet 5'¾ inches (8.68 meters) (+1.00) Barcelona, Spain, 8/5/1992

28 feet 5 inches (8.66 meters) (+1.40) (A) Sestriere, Italy, 7/31/1994

Ivan Pedroso (Cuba) 23 Performances

Ivan Pedroso reached 28 feet or more 21 times outdoors and two times indoors. His career best, 28 feet 7 inches (8.71 meters), came in 1995. The sixteenth best long jump of all-time outdoors, it stands as the Cuban outdoor national record. His best indoor performance, 28 feet 3'½ inches (8.62 meters) came at the 1999 Indoor World Track and Field Championships in Maebashi, Japan. The third best performance of all-time indoors, it stands as both the Indoor Championship and Cuban indoor national records.

28 feet (8.53 meters) (+1.60) Seville, Spain, 7/17/1992

28 feet 5'¾ inches (8.68 meters) (+1.60) Lisbon, Portugal, 6/17/1995

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters) (+2.00) Lausanne, Switzerland, 7/5/1995

28 feet '¾ inch (8.55 meters) (+1.50) Bad Cannstatt, Germany, 7/9/1995

28 feet 2'¼ inches (8.59 meters) (+0.90) Padua, Italy, 7/16/1995

28 feet 7 inches (8.71 meters) (+1.90) Salamanca, Spain, 7/18/1995 (NR-Outdoor)

28 feet 1'¾ inches (8.58 meters) -0.80) Monaco, 7/25/1995

28 feet 6'½ inches (8.70 meters) (+1.60) Goteborg, Sweden, 8/12/1995

28 feet 2'¾ inches (8.60 meters) (+1.50) Zurich, Switzerland, 8/16/1995

28 feet 5 inches (8.66) (+0.30) Linz, Austria, 8/22/1995

28 feet 2'¼ inches (8.59 meters) (+1.60) Tokyo, Japan, 9/15/1995

28 feet 2'¾ inches (8.60 meters) Lievin, France, 2/16/1997

28 feet 3'¾ inches (8.63 meters) (+1.10) Padua, Italy, 6/8/1997

28 feet 2'¾ inches (8.60 meters) -0.10) Prague, Czech Republic, 6/10/1997

28 feet 2'¼ inches (8.59 meters) (+0.40) Stockholm, Sweden, 7/7/1997

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters) (+0.20) Linz, Austria, 7/9/1997

28 feet (8.53 meters) (+1.00) Fukuoka, Japan, 9/13/1997

28 feet '¼ inch (8.54 meters) (+0.70) Uniondale, New York, 7/20/1998

28 feet 3'½ inches (8.62 meters) Maebashi, Japan, 3/7/1999 (NR-Indoor)

28 feet 2'¾ inches (8.60 meters) (+1.80) Padua, Italy, 6/26/1999

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters) (+1.10) Seville, Spain, 8/28/1999

28 feet 4'½ inches (8.65 meters (+1.50) Jena, Germany, 6/3/2000

28 feet '¾ inch (8.55 meters) (+0.40) Sydney, Australia, 9/28/2000

Mike Powell (United States) 12 Performances

Mike Powell reached 28 feet or more 12 times outdoors. His career best of 29 feet 4'½ inches (8.95 meters) came in the 1991 World Track and Field Championships, and stands as the current world and American records. On July 21, 1999, in Sestriere, Italy, Powell reached the altitude and wind aided distance of 29 feet 6 inches (8.99 meters), the longest performance under all conditions, but ineligible for world record consideration.

28 feet 5 inches (8.66 meters) (+0.90) Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France, 6/29/1990

28 feet 3'¾ inches (8.63 meters) (+0.50) New York, New York, 6/15/1991

28 feet 3 inches (8.61 meters) (+0.20) Rhede, Germany, 7/7/1991

29 feet 4'½ inches (8.95 meters) (+0.30) Tokyo, Japan, 8/30/1991 (WR)

28 feet 3'½ inches (8.62 meters) (0.00) New Orleans, Louisiana, 6/24/1992

28 feet 4 '½ inches (8.64 meters) (-0.50) Barcelona, Spain, 8/6/1992

28 feet 1'½ inches (8.57 meters) (+0.50) Berlin, Germany, 8/21/1992

28 feet 1'½ inches (8.57 meters) (-0.20) Brussels, Belgium, 8/28/1992

28 feet 6'½ inches (8.70 meters) (+0.70) Salamanca, Spain, 7/27/1993

28 feet 2'¼ inches (8.59 meters) (+0.40) Stuttgart, Germany, 8/20/1993

28 feet '¼ inch (8.54 meters) (+0.30) London, England, 9/10/1993

28 feet 1'¾ inches (8.58 meters) (+0.20) Brussels, Belgium, 8/19/1994

Larry Myricks (United States) 10 Performances

Larry Myricks reached 28 feet or more 10 times outdoors. His career best of 28 feet 8'¼ inches (8.74 meters) came on July 18, 1988 in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is tied for the eighth best performance of all-time outdoors.

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters) (+0.50) Rhede, Germany, 9/1/1982

28 feet 2'¼ inches (8.59 meters) (+1.30) Rhede, Germany, 9/5/1984

28 feet 3'¾ inches (8.63 meters) (+2.00) San Jose, California, 6/26/1987

28 feet 5 inches (8.66 meters) (+1.00) Tokyo, Japan, 9/23/1987

28 feet 8'¼ inches (8.74 meters) (+1.40) Indianapolis, Indianapolis, 7/18/1988 (CB)

28 feet 1'¾ inches (8.58 meters) (+1.10) (A) Sestriere, Italy, 8/11/1988

28 feet 3 inches (8.61 meters) (+1.20) Budapest, Hungary, 8/12/1988

28 feet '¾ inch (8.55 meters) (+1.20) Modesto, California, 5/7/1989

28 feet 6'½ inches (8.70 meters) (+0.80) Houston, Texas, 6/17/1989

28 feet '¼ inch (8.54 meters) (-0.50) Monaco, 9/1/1989

Dwight Phillips (United States) 8 Performances

Dwight Phillips reached 28 feet or more eight times outdoors. His career best of 28 feet 8'¼ inches came on July 18, 1988 in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is tied for the eighth best performance of all-time outdoors.

28 feet 2'¾ inches (8.60 meters) (+0.50) Linz, Austria, 8/2/2004

28 feet 2'¼ inches (8.59 meters) (+1.00) Athens, Greece, 8/26/2004

28 feet 2'¾ inches (8.60 meters) (+1.60) Helsinki, Finland, 8/13/2005

28 feet 1'½ inches (8.57 meters) (+0.50) Linz, Austria, 8/23/2005

28 feet '¼ inch (8.54 meters) (+0.90) Hengelo, Netherlands, 6/1/2009

28 feet 8'¼ inches (8.74 meters) (-1.20) Eugene, Oregon, 6/7/2009 (CB)

28 feet 3 inches (8.61 meters) (+0.00) Rome, Italy, 7/10/2009

28 feet '¼ inch (8.54 meters) (+0.10) Berlin, Germany, 8/22/2009

Irving Saladino (Panama) 8 Performances

Irving Saladino reached 28 feet or more eight times outdoors. His career best, 28 feet 7 '¾ inches (8.73 meters), came on May 24, 2008, in Hengelo, Netherlands. The ninth best performance of all-time outdoors, it stands as the Panamanian national record.

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters) (+1.60) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 5/14/2006

28 feet (8.53 meters) (+0.90) Oslo, Norway, 6/2/2006

28 feet (8.53 meters) (-0.20) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 5/13/2007

28 feet (8.53 meters) (-1.20) Hengelo, Netherlands, 5/26/2007

28 feet 1'½ inches (8.57 meters) (0.00) Osaka, Japan, 8/30/2007

28 feet 7'¾ inches (8.73 meters) (+1.20) Hengelo, Netherlands, 5/24/2008 (NR)

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters) (+0.80) Hengelo, Netherlands, 6/1/2009

28 feet 3'¾ inches (8.63 meters) (-0.40) Eugene, Oregon, 6/7/2009

Robert Emmiyan (Soviet Union) 3 Performances

Robert Emmiyan reached 28 feet or more three times outdoors. His career best, 29 feet 1 inch (8.86 meters) came on May 22, 1987 in Tsakhkadzor, Armenia (then the Soviet Union). The fourth best long jump of all-time outdoors, it stands as the Armenian national record

28 feet 3 inches (8.61 meters) (-0.30) Moscow, Russia, 7/6/1986

29 feet 1 inch (8.86 meters) (+1.90) (A) Tsakhkadzor, Armenia (then the Soviet Union), 5/22/1987 (NR)

28 feet (8.53 meters) (-0.20) Rome, Italy, 9/5/1987

Erick Walder (United States) 3 Performances

Erick Walder reached 28 feet or more three times outdoors. His career best, 28 feet 8'¼ inches (8.74 meters) came on April 2, 1994 in El Paso, Texas. It is tied for the eighth best performance of all-time outdoors.

28 feet (8.53 meters) (+0.90) New Orleans, Louisiana, 6/3/1993

28 feet 8 '¼ inches (8.74 meters) (+2.00) (A) El Paso, Texas, 4/2/1994 (CB)

28 feet 1'¾ inches (8.58 meters) (+1.80) Springfield, Missouri, 5/4/1996

Yago Lamela (Spain) 3 Performances

Yago Lamela reached 28 feet or more two times outdoors and once indoors. His outdoor career best, 28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters), came on June 24, 1999, in Turin, Italy. Tied for the twenty-fifth best performance of all-time outdoors, it stands as the Spanish outdoor national record. Lamela's indoor career best, 28 feet 1 inches (8.56 meters), came on March 7, 1999, in Maebashi, Japan. Tied for the sixth best performance indoors, it stands as the Spanish indoor national record.

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters) Maebashi, Japan, 3/7/1999 (NR-Indoor)

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters) (+1.30) Turin, Italy, 6/24/1999 (NR-Outdoor)

28 feet (8.53 meters) (+1.30) Castellon, Spain, 8/18/2003

James Beckford (Jamaica) 2 Performances

James Beckford reached 28 feet or more two times outdoors. His outdoor career best, 28 feet 3'½ inches (8.62 meters) came on April 5, 1997, in Orlando, Florida. Tied for the nineteenth best performance of all-time outdoors, it stands as the Jamaican national record.

28 feet 3'½ inches (8.62 meters) (+0.70) Orlando, Florida, 4/5/1997 (NR)

28 feet 2'¾ inches (8.60 meters) (+0.40) Bad Langensalza, Germany, 6/6/1998

Kareem Streete-Thompson (United States) 2 Performances

Kareem Streete-Thompson reached 28 feet or more two times outdoors. His outdoor career best, 28 feet 3'¾ inches (8.63 meters), came on July 4, 1994 in Linz, Austria, and is tied for the eighteenth best performance of all-time.

28 feet 3'¾ inches (8.63 meters) (+0.50) Linz, Austria, 7/4/1994 (CB)

28 feet 1 inch (8.56 meters) (+1.90) New York, New York, 5/21/1995

Louis Tsatoumas (Greece) 2 Performances

LoÆ'ºis TsÆ'¡toumas reached 28 feet or more two times outdoors. His outdoor career best, 28 feet 5 inches (8.66 meters), came on June 2, 2007, in Kalamata, Greece. Tied for the fifteenth best performance of all-times, it stands as the Grecian national record.

28 feet 5 inches (8.66) (+1.60) Kalamata, Greece, 6/2/2007 (NR)

28 feet '¼ inch (8.54 meters) (+0.80) Hania, Greece, 6/9/2007

Bob Beamon (United States) 1 Performance

Bob Beamon reached 28 feet or more once. His outdoor career best, 29 feet 2'½ inches (8.90 meters), came on October 18, 1968 in Mexico City, Mexico. With this performance, Beamon won the Olympic gold medal and established a world record that stood until August 30, 1991, when Mike Powell surpassed it. The second best performance of all-time outdoors, it stands as the Olympic record.

29 feet 2'½ inches (8.90 meters) (2.00) (A) Mexico City, Mexico, 10/18/1968 (OR)

Lutz Dombrowski (German Democratic Republic) 1 Performance

Lutz Dombrowski reached 28 feet or more once outdoors. His outdoor career best, 28 feet '¼ (8.54 meters), came on July 28, 1980 in Moscow, Russia, then the Soviet Union. Tied for the twenty-seventh best performance of all-time outdoors, it earned Dombrowski the Olympic gold medal, and established the German Democratic Republic national record, which continues to stand as the German national record.

28 feet '¼ inch (8.54 meters) (0.90) Moscow, Russia (then the Soviet Union), 7/28/1980 (NR-Outdoor)

Jaime Jefferson (Cuba) 1 Performance

Jaime Jefferson reached 28 feet once outdoors. His career best, 28 feet (8.53 meters), came on May 12, 1990 in Havana, Cuba, and is tied for the twenty-eighth best performance of all-time outdoors.

28 feet (8.53 meters) (+1.20) Havana, Cuba, 5/12/1990 (CB)

Sebastian Bayer (Germany) 1 Performance

Sebastian Bayer reached 28 feet or more once indoors. His indoor career best, 28 feet 7 inches (8.71 meters), came March 8, 2009 in Turin, Italy. The second best performance of all-time indoors, its stands as the European Indoor Championship, European Area, and German national records.

28 feet 7 inches (8.71 meters) Turin, Italy, 3/8/2009 (AR-Europe; NR-Indoor)

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