Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping , he broke the existing record by a margin of and his world record stood for almost 23 years until it was broken in 1991 by Mike Powell. The jump is still the Olympic record and the second-longest in history unassisted by wind.

Early life

Robert Beamon was born in

South Jamaica, Queens South Jamaica (also commonly known as "Southside") is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located south of downtown Jamaica. Although a proper border has not been established, the neighborhood is a subsectio ...

, New York, to Naomi Brown Beamon and grew up in the New York Housing Authority's Jamaica Houses. When Beamon was eight months old, his mother died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and, as a result of his stepfather's incarceration, he was placed into the care of his maternal grandmother, Bessie. When Beamon was attending Jamaica High School, Larry Ellis, a renowned track coach, discovered him. Beamon later became part of the All-American track and field team. Beamon began his college career at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to be close to his ill grandmother. After her death, he transferred to the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public university, public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the Univers ...

, where he received a track and field scholarship. In 1965, Beamon set a national high school

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 ...

record and was second in the long jump. In 1967, he won the AAU indoor title and earned a silver medal at the Pan American Games, both in the long jump.Bob Beamon
. sports-reference.com Beamon along with eleven other Black athletes were dropped from the

(UTEP) track and field team the week following the assassination of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

for participating in a boycott of competition with

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

because of the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

's racist teachings. Despite losing his athletic scholarship, Beamon returned to UTEP to continue his studies after the Mexico City Olympics. Fellow Olympian

Ralph Boston Ralph Harold Boston (May 9, 1939 – April 30, 2023) was an American track athlete who received three Olympic medals and became the first person to break the barrier in the long jump. Early years and education Boston was born in Laurel, Missi ...

became his unofficial coach.

1968 Summer Olympics

Beamon entered the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

as the favorite to win the gold medal, having won 22 of the 23 meets he had competed in that year, including a career-best of and a world's best of that was ineligible for the record books due to excessive wind assistance. That year, he won the AAU and NCAA indoor long jump and triple jump titles and the AAU outdoor long jump title. He came close to missing the Olympic final, overstepping on his first two attempts in qualifying. With only one chance left, Beamon re-measured his approach run from a spot in front of the board and made a fair jump that advanced him to the final. There, he faced the two previous gold-medal winners, fellow American

(1960) and

Lynn Davies Lynn Davies CBE (born 20 May 1942) is a Welsh former track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He was the 1964 Olympic champion in the event. Early life Davies was born in Nantymoel near Bridgend and was a member of the ...

of Great Britain (1964), and twice bronze medallist Igor Ter-Ovanesyan of the Soviet Union. Bob Beamon 1968b

On October 18, Beamon set a

for the

with a first jump of , bettering the existing record by . When the announcer called out the distance for the jump, Beamon—unfamiliar with metric measurements—still did not realize what he had done. When his teammate and coach

told him that he had broken the world record by nearly two feet, his legs gave way and an astonished and overwhelmed Beamon suffered a brief cataplexy attack brought on by the emotional shock, and collapsed to his knees, his body unable to support itself, placing his hands over his face. The defending Olympic champion

told Beamon, "You have destroyed this event", and in sports jargon, a new adjective—''Beamonesque''—came into use to describe spectacular feats. Before Beamon's jump, the world record had been broken thirteen times since 1901, with an average increase of and the largest increase being . In the years following the jump, the mark was considered unbeatable. It took 12 years for another human being to jump 28 feet, much less 29. Beamon's world record stood for 23 years until it was finally broken in 1991 when Mike Powell jumped at the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

s in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, but Beamon's jump is still the

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games. Summer Olympics * Archery at the Summer Olympics, Archery (List of Olympic records in archery, li ...

and years later remains the second-longest wind-legal jump in history.

Later life

Shortly after the Mexico City Olympics, Beamon was drafted by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in the 15th round of the

1969 NBA draft The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college ba ...

but never played in an NBA game. In 1972, he graduated from

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

with a degree in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. In 1977, Beamon became a track coach at

Alliant International University Alliant International University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university with its main campus in San Diego, five additional campuses in California (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Irv ...

(formerly known as U.S. International University) in San Diego. Beamon has worked in various roles to promote youth athleticism, including collaborations with former California governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

and Beamon's work at the athletic programs of several universities. He is a graphic artist with work exhibited by the Art of the Olympians (AOTO), and was the former chief executive of the Art of the Olympians Museum in Fort Myers, Florida. In 2024, Beamon played percussion on a

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

jazz recording. He is also a Global Ambassador for

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

International.

Honors

Beamon is in the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, and when the United States Olympic Hall of Fame started to induct athletes in 1983, Beamon was one of the first inductees. There is a Bob Beamon Street in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

Awards

* ANOC Gala Awards 2015: Outstanding Performance

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beamon, Bob 1946 births Living people American male long jumpers Track and field athletes from Queens, New York African-American track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field World record setters in athletics (track and field) North Carolina A&T State University alumni UTEP Miners men's track and field athletes North Carolina A&T Aggies men's track and field athletes Phoenix Suns draft picks Jamaica High School (New York City) alumni Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners