British athletics legend talks about his Olympic gold from 25 years in the past, the state of play in monitor and area and why his 1995 world document has stood the check of time
There are few sporting sights as pleasing as Jonathan Edwards within the triple leap. In his heyday, he was the epitome of athleticism. A pleasure to observe, his lithe body hid big quantities of power and technical brilliance and he glided gracefully from one section to a different in distinction to the crash, bang, wallop of lots of his rivals.
He was usually in comparison with a stone skimming throughout water and such capacity led to him setting the present world document of 18.29m along with profitable Olympic gold in Sydney. His record-breaking feat celebrated its thirtieth anniversary earlier this summer season whereas his Olympic victory befell 25 years in the past this month – a silver anniversary of a gold-plated achievement.
When it got here to Sydney, it was a case of fourth time fortunate. Edwards had completed nicely out of the operating on the Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992 Video games, whereas he struggled with the strain of being world No.1 in 1996 and took silver behind Kenny Harrison of america in Atlanta.
In some methods it was acceptable for Edwards to finally get to the highest of the Olympic podium after a prolonged journey. When it got here to athletics typically he was, in any case, the basic gradual developer.
Born in London in 1966, he grew up in north Devon because the son of a vicar and confirmed little indicators of changing into a world-class athlete. The West Nation doesn’t historically produce many world-class area eventers – partly resulting from an absence of amenities – and Edwards’ faculty, regardless of being higher higher than most, solely had a grass monitor and a cinder jumps space.
“I went to an excellent faculty in north Devon known as West Buckland,” he says, “and so they had all of the sporting amenities. It was a basic type of English non-public faculty the place sport was a serious a part of the curriculum. That mentioned, I feel I did my first triple leap on a type of barely downhill cinder monitor on the backside of the primary XV rugby area. The primary time I ever jumped on an all-weather floor would have been in Plymouth.”
He provides: “It wasn’t a complicated starting to my athletics profession in any respect and I did not even take into consideration having an athletics profession. I simply loved my sport. Actually I loved all sports activities. The large change was profitable the English Faculties title in 1984 in Thurrock.”
Edwards received the senior boys’ crown that yr with a wind-assisted 15.01m though he remembers: “Lawrence Lynch received the intermediate triple leap and he jumped additional than me!”
Edwards went to Durham College to learn physics. “I jumped 16.35m in 1987 and went to the World Scholar Video games the place I completed ninth,” he says, “however I did not even leap 16 metres within the last. So even after I left college, I would solely jumped 16.35m.”
He started to be coached by Carl Johnson – and later Peter Stanley and Norman Anderson – and when he left college he determined to make the leap and take athletics critically. “I should have been mad,” he says.
Regardless of lacking the 1988 Olympic trials resulting from his non secular beliefs on the time and the very fact the competitors fell on a Sunday, he was picked for the Seoul Video games and completed simply twenty third in qualifying with 15.88m.
“I spent a while with Colin Jackson just lately,” he says. “We did some stuff with Puma for the thirtieth anniversary of my world document and, after all, Colin was breaking world junior information and buying and selling varied titles with Jon Ridgeon and he received the Olympic silver medal in 1988. So he was all the time a type of famous person within the making from the get go, whereas I used to be very a lot a late developer.”
After college, Edwards profession lastly started to take off and he matured right into a bona fide world-class performer. On the 1992 Video games he had hopes of ending within the high six and had jumped 17.26m within the countdown to the occasion, however in Barcelona itself he managed solely 15.76m to put thirty fifth. But there was some comfort – and in addition a promise of issues to return – when he received his occasion on the World Cup in Havana on the finish of the season with 17.34m.
Round this time he started to begin competing on a Sunday and he continued to progress as he constructed as much as his peak season of 1995. On the European Cup in Lille that yr he created a sensation when he soared out to wind-assisted leaps of 18.43m (2.4) and 18.39m (3.7m). The distances have been so spectacular, some individuals thought it was a misprint and that the outcomes ought to have learn 17 as a substitute of 18 metres.
In July he succeeded Willie Banks as world record-holder with 17.98m (1.8) in Salamanca however he wasn’t happy and went to the World Championships in Gothenburg eager to leap over 18 metres legally.
His first try within the Swedish metropolis noticed him smash the world document with 18.16m (1.3) . Then he went even additional with 18.29m (1.3) – the world’s first 60-foot leap.
He hopped 6.05m, stepped 5.22m and jumped an unbelievable 7.05m to develop into the primary triple jumper to set two world information again to again. Not surprisingly he scooped nearly each award going on the finish of 1995 together with IAAF male athlete and BBC sports activities character of the yr. The one draw back was that everybody was hanging the Olympic gold medal round his neck forward of Atlanta.
Partly resulting from being a gradual developer and missing in success as a junior, Edwards says he struggled to really feel he “belonged” in elite athletics and “wasn’t acclimatised to success”. He explains: “It caught up with me a bit in Atlanta in ’96 and I feel I discovered the strain actually fairly overwhelming.”
Regardless of having a 22-competition win-streak coming into the Video games, he jumped a greater than respectable 17.88m however completed runner-up to an impressed Harrison because the American jumped 18.09m – the third greatest authorized leap in historical past at that stage behind Edwards’ two world information in Gothenburg.
By the point Sydney rolled round 4 years later, Edwards was, by now, 34 years outdated – nearly a geriatric in triple leap phrases. He had additionally had ankle surgical procedure in 1998, which led to a disappointing 1999 season nevertheless it meant he was fitter and more healthy for Olympic yr.
On the Video games he leapt 17.71m within the third spherical – the furthest leap on the earth all yr though inferior to his greatest leap from Atlanta 4 years earlier. Nonetheless, it was sufficient to see off the problem of Yoel Garcia of Cuba and Denis Kapustin of Russia.
So, what means extra to Edwards? The Olympic victory or world document?
“The world document,” he says emphatically. “I feel the reason being fairly easy – the world document defines me greater than my Olympic title. I am often known as the world record-holder and I nonetheless maintain the world document after 30 years. So I feel that trumps profitable the Olympics.”
He describes his profitable mark in Sydney as “garbage” however provides: “Look, it was wonderful to win the Olympics, do not get me improper. And it is extremely particular to have been an Olympic champion.
“If my world document had been damaged after 10 years, perhaps that may have flipped issues somewhat in the direction of Sydney. However I nonetheless suppose having completed one thing higher than anyone else in your chosen self-discipline is, for me, by definition a singular achievement. Numerous individuals can win an Olympic title and you do not have to be the most effective on the earth to be an Olympic champion.”
Following his athletics profession, Edwards has loved a profitable profession in broadcasting. He offered athletics on BBC, along with biking, the latter of which is a giant ardour of his. He additionally offered Songs of Reward on BBC though he’s not a religious Christian as he misplaced his religion about 18 years in the past.
He nonetheless cycles a bit, however he’s more and more extra more likely to be discovered on a golf course. He performs with various ex-athletes like Kriss Akabusi, Denise Lewis and John Regis. As we spoke for this interview, he was simply finishing a home transfer from Newcastle to East Lothian in Scotland, too, partly to be close to the nice golf programs within the space. “I’m additionally nearly 60 and we simply felt we would have liked a change,” he provides.
How carefully does he watch athletics as of late? “I am going to control the triple leap when a serious championship comes alongside,” he says. “However no, really, funnily sufficient since I retired from being concerned with the broadcasting facet of issues when Covid occurred, I’ve misplaced monitor somewhat bit. From time to time I dip out and in. However I am undoubtedly not an avid watcher of athletics now.”
He feels the game has misplaced its lustre in recent times compared to its heyday within the Eighties and Nineties.
He additionally feels his expertise could be neglected as of late if was a younger athlete beginning out at this time. “Plenty of my enhancements after I first began coaching critically simply got here from bodily growth and never from any coaching growth,” he explains, “so my form of expertise could be misplaced to the game just because the system would inform you there is not any level in doing this since you’re not ok.”
Sydney 2000 represented a excessive level for British triple leaping, with Larry Achike ending fifth and Phillips Idowu sixth. Idowu went on to win a world title in 2009 whereas within the ladies’s triple leap Ashia Hansen loved a number of worldwide victories throughout that interval. Compared, Britain didn’t have a triple jumper eventually yr’s Olympics and nor will they’ve any at this yr’s World Championships.
“Athletics has dropped off when it comes to reputation and participation for positive,” says Edwards. “I imply, there is a operating increase, however that’s extra to do with well being and health.
“I do not suppose athletics has actually saved tempo with the professionalisation of sport and definitely the rewards aren’t there in athletics in the best way they’re with different sports activities.
“It is a powerful sport. There is not any getting away from it. You need to run a quick 800 metres, you have to exit and actually break your self in coaching to see any enhancements. It is not like going out and having a sport of soccer or a sport of golf or tennis or basketball or having enjoyable in a skate park, doing skateboarding, a number of the extra trendy sports activities which have come into the Olympics.
“I feel the alternatives for younger individuals in school are in all probability minimal with regards to getting concerned with athletics because it does require loads of experience. It is definitely fallen out of trend. So that you simply have not obtained the expertise going into it. And significantly into area occasions that are much more demanding when it comes to needing amenities and technical recommendation. I feel athletics has misplaced tempo with different sports activities.”
Might he have predicted again in 1995 that BBC and AW would nonetheless be round protecting the game 30 years later?
“I might have, however I might have assumed it will have grown. I do not suppose it is a shock that it is there. I imply, again then it was the No.2 sport in all probability behind soccer. Now it feels to me prefer it’s nicely down the pecking order. It’s important to actually go and search for it. If you need it, it is probably not there entrance and centre in all the large streaming platforms for sport.”
Is he shocked his world document has stood the check of time?
“After leaping that distance, my rapid thought was that I might break it once more!” he smiles. “I assumed I am going to develop into a greater athlete. I will be quicker. I will be stronger. My approach will enhance and I am going to leap additional as a result of it is all the time the best way once you do one thing very well.
“It feels very simple and it nearly methods you into pondering that, if I can do it that simply, I can do it once more as a result of it proved fairly tougher than that. And certainly, I solely jumped 18 metres as soon as extra in my profession.
“The thought that we’re sitting right here speaking about it 30 years on is is sort of exceptional and fairly mind-blowing to be completely sincere. I imply holding a world document is mind-blowing there is not any doubt about it for me that is that is the factor from athletics profession which takes my breath away essentially the most is that I’ve jumped additional than anyone else in historical past.
“I feel that is loopy and the very fact it is lasted for 30 years is simply as one other stage of craziness.”
Watch the total interview right here…
