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World Athletics CEO announced that they would try a new long jump format, a move that has attracted negative criticism from athletics enthusiasts including legendary American long jumper turned coach Carl Lewis.
The world of the long jump might soon be changing since World Athletics have a plan to try a new format for the long jump this year as they seek to reduce the number of fouls in competition.
As per the Independent, data from last year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary revealed that a third of attempts ended in no-jumps as competitors try to push the limits of the board. This is something that World Athletics believes takes away the entertaining aspect of the event.
Speaking to the Anything but Footy podcast, World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon disclosed that the new format would see all jumps legalised so long as they took off from a new “jump zone”.
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The CEO believes that the move would see greater distances achieved and also see to it that the sport would be open to accusations of reducing the skill level required as athletes would no longer need to perfect the timing of their run-ups.
“We’ll measure from where the athlete takes off to where they land in the pit. That means every single jump counts. It adds to the jeopardy and drama in the competition.
“We’ll spend this year testing it in real-life circumstances with very good athletes. If it doesn’t pass testing, we’ll never introduce it. At the same time, we’re working out ways we can get instant results so you don’t have to wait 20-30 seconds before the result pops up,” Ridgeon said.
However, the move was not taken lightly by Carl Lewis, the legendary American long jumper turned coach. In a post on his X (Twitter) handle, he said: “You’re supposed to wait until April 1st for April Fools jokes. I guess It supports what I’ve been saying, that the long jump is the most difficult event in track and field.
“That would just eliminate the most difficult skill from the event. Just make the basket larger for free throws because so many people miss them. What do you think?”
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Other X users did not also embrace the idea, with one saying: “Terrible idea. It fundamentally changes the nature of the competition.
“What next - HJ/PV having their clearance margin added to the height? Javelin throws being measured from the release point? And how would it be done at lower-level meets?”
Another user said: “Long jumping has historically been about the distance PLUS the precision of hitting the board.
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“Should we let shot putters step out of the ring? Should baton passes be wherever the team wants and have no passing zone?”
Meanwhile, Ridgeon was already aware that the plan would face a lot of criticism. “You cannot make change in a sport that was basically invented 150 years ago without some controversy.
“If you have dedicated your life to hitting that take-off board perfectly and then suddenly we replace it with a take-off zone, I totally get that there might be initial resistance.
“We will spend this year testing it in real-life circumstances with very good athletes. If it doesn’t pass testing, we will never introduce it.
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“We are not going to introduce things on a whim. We really want to spend the next two years thoroughly working them through. This is not about next year, but making sure we have got a sport that is fit for purpose for another 150 years,” he added.
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