The 2000 Olympic triple jump champion believes that his longstanding of mark of 18.29m could be broken in Paris
It’s not often you break two world records in the space of 20 minutes but Jonathan Edwards did just that at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg.
In the build-up to those championships, Edwards had added one centimetre to Willie Banks’ 10-year-old world record of 17.97m in Salamanca and looked in imperious form.
In Gothenburg he produced a string of jumps that are still talked about to this day, recording marks of 18.16m and 18.29m, with the latter still being the world record.
Edwards’ mark of 18.16m was the third best in history until the recent European Championships, where Spain’s Jordan Alejandro Díaz Fortún – originally of Cuba – jumped 18.18m.
With current Olympic champion Pedro Pichardo having also jumped 18.04m this season, it means the triple jump final in Paris could be one of the events of the entire Games.
Kenny Harrison’s 18.09m from Atlanta 1996 is still the Olympic record but such is the calibre of competition that talk of one of Díaz, Pichardo or another guy surpassing Edwards’ 18.29m is in the air.
Ahead of the Olympic triple jump final, we caught up with Edwards at PUMA House in Paris on whether he thinks his record could be broken and what winning Olympic gold in Sydney meant to him.
Jonathan Edwards (Mark Shearman)
What are your thoughts on the Olympic men’s triple jump final?
I think it will be a very strong final. It’ll probably be the best for a number of years, since Christian Taylor was at his peak. I remember he jumped 18.21m at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing and that was incredible.
We saw a bit of a preview of this final at the European Championships in Rome, where Pedro Pichardo and Jordan Díaz showed they are in great form. Then there is Jaydon Hibbert and O’ve been watching him from afar doing these crazy distances off a short approach. He’s an incredible talent and although he has a few niggles, I’m really looking forward to seeing him jump. Zango is also jumping well. If they all push each other then it could lead to something quite special.
You’ve got one of the longest standing world records in track and field. Do you think that is under threat tonight?
It’s not impossible it could go. You’ve seen how far Díaz jumped in Rome and Pichardo is over 18m as well. It depends on conditions and the wind will have a huge impact. If there’s a slight headwind then they won’t break the world…
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