Larry Myricks (born 10 March 1956) is an American former track and field athlete, who mainly competed 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 ...

event. He is a two-time winner of the World Indoor Championships (1987, 1989) and a two-time winner of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

(1979, 1989). He also won a bronze medal at the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were repres ...

, and bronze medals at the

World Championships 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 ...

in 1987 and 1991.

Career

Myricks was born in

Clinton, Mississippi Clinton is a List of cities in Mississippi, city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. Situated in the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area, Jackson metropolitan area, it is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 10th most populous c ...

. A durable jumper, he first broke onto the track scene in 1976. While competing for

Mississippi College Mississippi College (MC) is a private university affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention and located in Clinton, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1826, MC is the second oldest Baptists, Baptist-affiliated college or university in ...

, he was the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Champion in the long jump. He followed that with a second place at the U.S. Olympic Trials, beating defending Olympic champion Randy Williams in the process. At the 1976 Olympics, he broke his foot while warming up for the final and was unable to compete. His teammates Arnie Robinson and Williams finished 1 and 2. The three American jumpers had been easily the top three jumpers in qualifying. In 1979, he again won the NCAA Championship, this time both indoors and outdoors. He was also the US National Champion (27–2), and World Cup Champion (8.52 m). He repeated as U.S. national champion in 1980 and in 1989. He also won British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the 1981 AAA Championships. Myricks competed for the United States at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

held in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, where he won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in the men's long jump competition. In addition to the 1976 Olympics, he won the 1980 Olympic Trials (over a young

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. Lewis was a dominant sprinter and lo ...

), but the team did not get to go to the Olympics due to the multinational boycott. As consolation, he received one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

s created specifically for the athletes. Myricks finished second to Lewis in the 1984 Olympic Trials.http://www.legacy.usatf.org/usatf/files/69/695a8112-b7a0-4b9d-9dbb-8b4bca22677c.pdf He finished fourth in the Olympics that year. He set his personal best of in the long jump at the 1988 Olympic Trials. That jump still ranks Myricks as the number 5 long jumper ever. It was the trials record, for a few minutes, until surpassed by Carl Lewis. After qualifying for four straight Olympic teams, Myricks returned in 1992 as a 36-year-old to a fifth Olympic Trials, finishing in seventh place. Myricks was the third-place jumper at the 1991 World Championships when Lewis and Mike Powell were fighting over the world record, what many consider the greatest long jump competition ever. Based on a statistical comparison of 8.16 meters, Myricks had more competitions (170) over that mark than any other competitor. Moving that comparison to 8.50 m, he ranks second (17) to Carl Lewis (39) (as of 1996; since 1996, only 9 jumpers have jumped 8.50). Myricks' last 8.50 in 1991, at the age of 35, is tied with Lewis' mark from the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

as the M35 Masters World Record. He was also a masterful

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a Sprint (running), sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run th ...

sprinter, with a best of 20.03 s at the US National Championships in 1983 behind his nemesis Carl Lewis, who along with Mike Powell overshadowed him for most of his career. Myricks ran the 200 at the

1983 World Championships in Athletics The 1st World Championships in Athletics (; ) were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium (Helsinki), Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983 ...

. He won the U.S. nationals in the 200 meters in 1988. Myricks is also a graduate of

. He was coached there by Joe Walker (now at Ole Miss).

International competitions

References

External links

USTAF Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myricks, Larry 1956 births Living people American male long jumpers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics People from Clinton, Mississippi Track and field athletes from Mississippi World record holders in masters athletics World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Mississippi College alumni Doping cases in athletics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Congressional Gold Medal recipients American masters athletes Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Mississippi College Choctaws men's track and field athletes NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen