The men's triple jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

. The competition was held from Thursday, August 19, 1920, to Saturday, August 21, 1920. Twenty-one triple jumpers from eight nations competed. No nation had more than four jumpers, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912. The event was won by

Vilho Tuulos Vilho "Ville" Immanuel Tuulos (26 March 1895 – 2 September 1967) was a Finnish triple jumper and long jumper, who won a gold medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. Career At the 1920 Olympic Games, Tuulos won a gold medal in the tri ...

of Finland, the nation's first medal in the triple jump. Sweden, which had swept the medals in 1912, took the next three places.

Erik Almlöf Erik Albin Almlöf (20 December 1891 – 18 January 1971) was a Swedish athlete who specialized in the triple jump. He competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, where he won the bronze medal. Due to World War I no Olympics were held in ...

became the third man to win two medals in the event, repeating his bronze performance from 1912. The winning margin was 2.5 cm which as of 2023 remains the only time the men's triple jump was won by less than 4 cm at the Olympics.

Background

This was the sixth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Two jumpers from the pre-war 1912 Games returned: bronze medalist

of Sweden and fourth-place finisher Erling Vinne of Norway. Czechoslovakia made its first appearance in the event. The United States competed for the sixth time, having competed at each of the Games so far.

Competition format

The competition was described as two rounds at the time, but was more similar to the modern divided final. All athletes received three jumps initially. The top six after that received an additional three jumps to improve their distance, but the initial jumps would still count if no improvement was made.Official Report, p. 113.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics. Dan Ahearn set his world record while being a citizen of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

; at this Olympics he represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, finishing in the sixth place. No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

Results

The best six triple jumpers qualified for the final.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1920 Summer Olympics - Men's Triple Jump

Triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

Triple jump at the Olympics