Olympics: long jump winning distances 1896-2024| Statista

Gold medal winning distances in the men's and women's long jump at the Summer Olympics from 1896 to 2024 (in meters)

Year	Men	Women
Paris 2024	8.48	7.1
Tokyo 2020	8.41	7
Rio 2016	8.38	7.17
London 2012	8.31	7.12
Beijing 2008	8.34	7.04
Athens 2004	8.59	7.07
Sydney 2000	8.55	6.99
Atlanta 1996	8.5	7.12
Barcelona 1992	8.67	7.14
Seoul 1988	8.72	7.4
Los Angeles 1984	8.54	6.96
Moscow 1980	8.54	7.06
Montreal 1976	8.35	6.72
Munich 1972	8.24	6.78
Mexico City 1968	8.9	6.82
Tokyo 1964	8.07	6.76
Rome 1960	8.12	6.37
Melbourne 1956	7.83	6.35
Helsinki 1952	7.57	6.24
London 1948	7.83	5.7
Berlin 1936	8.06	-
Los Angeles 1932	7.64	-
Amsterdam 1928	7.73	-
Paris 1924	7.45	-
Antwerp 1920	7.15	-
Stockholm 1912	7.6	-
London 1908	7.48	-
St. Louis 1904	7.34	-
Paris 1900	7.19	-
Athens 1896	6.35	-

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Release date

2024

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

1896 to 2024

Supplementary notes

This data was collected using the official Olympic website, as well as a spreadsheet from the Guardian that includes data from 1896-2008 (available here), 2012 and 2016 data was compared with that from Encyclopaedia Britannica, and several news outlets were used to update the table when medals were reassigned (i.e. for doping offenses).

The winning athletes (male listed first) and their represented countries are as follows:
1896 - Ellery Clark (US)
1900 - Alvin Kraenzlein (US)
1904 - Meyer Prinstein (US)
1908 - Frank Irons (US)
1912 - Albert Gutterson (US)
1920 - William Petersson (Sweden)
1924 - William De Hart Hubbard (US)
1928 - Edward Barton Hamm (US)
1932 - Edward Lansing Gordon (US)
1936 - Jesse Owens (US)
1948 - Willie Steele (US) & Olga Gyrmait (Hungary)
1952 - Jerone Biffle (US) & Yvette Williams (New Zealand)
1956 - Gregory Bell (US) & Elżbieta Krzesińska (Poland)
1960 - Ralph Boston (US) & Vera Kolashnikova-Krepkina (Soviet Union)
1964 - Lynn Davies (Great Britain) & Mary Rand (Great Britain)
1968 - Bob Beamon (US) & Viorica Viscopoleanu (Romania)
1972 - Randy Williams (US) & Heide Rosendahl (West Germany)
1976 - Arnie Robinson (US) & Angela Voigt (East Germany)
1980 - Lutz Dombrowski (East Germany) & Tatiana Kolpakova (Soviet Union)
1984 - Carl Lewis (US) & Anisoara Cusmir-Stanciu (Romania)
1988 - Carl Lewis (US) & Jackie Joyner (US)
1992 - Carl Lewis (US) & Heike Drechsler (Germany)
1996 - Carl Lewis (US) & Chioma Ajunwa (Nigeria)
2000 - Ivan Pedroso (Cuba) & Heike Drechsler (Germany)
2004 - Dwight Phillips (US) & Tatyana Lebedeva (Russia)
2008 - Irving Saldino (Panama) & Maurren Higa Maggi (Brazil)
2012 - Greg Rutherford (Great Britain) & Brittney Reese (US)
2016 - Jeff Henderson (US) & Tianna Bartoletta (US)
2020 - Miltiadis Tentoglou (Greece) & Malaika Mihambo (Germany)
2024 - Miltiadis Tentoglou (Greece) & Tara Davis (USA)

Citation formats

The long jump has been a permanent fixture in the men's Olympic schedule since 1896, and the women's long jump was first introduced in 1948. The winning distances have generally increased over time, although the men's Olympic record of 8.9 meters was set by the U.S.' Bob Beamon in 1968 (also standing as the world record for 23 years), and the women's Olympic record of 7.4 meters was set by the U.S.' Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1988.

Most successful nations

In Olympic history, the United States have, by far, had the most success in this event, taking 22 out of 29 golds in the men's event, and an additional four golds in the women's. Germany's Heike Drechsler is the only female athlete to win two Olympic golds in the long jump, having done so in 1992 and 2000, in addition to the silver medal she won for East Germany in 1988.

Carl Lewis

The most successful and decorated Olympian in the history of the long jump is the United States' Carl Lewis. By winning gold in all men's Olympic long jumps between 1984 and 1996, Lewis is just one of three Olympians in history to win four consecutive golds in the same event; the others, also from the U.S., were Al Oerter in the discus throw between 1946 and 1968, and Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly between 2004 and 2016. In addition to his long jump golds, Lewis also claimed gold in the 100m in 1984 and 1988, in the 200m in 1984, and in the 4x100m in 1984 and 1992; these nine golds make Lewis tied as the most successful Olympian in the field of athletics.