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 group are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". This event has a history in the ancient Olympic Games and has been a modern Olympic event for men since the first Olympics in 1896 and for women since 1948.
Long jump at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships
An indicator of wind direction and a device for measuring wind speed (here +2.6 m/s) along a run-up track
Halteres used in athletic games in ancient Greece
An athlete performing the long jump as part of the heptathlon at the 2013 French Athletics Championships at Stade Charléty in Paris
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running and racewalking. In British English the term "Athletics" is synonymous with American "Track and Field" and includes all jumping events.
Part of a track and field stadium
An Ancient Greece vase from 600 BC depicting a running contest
An early model of hurdling at the Detroit Athletic Club in 1888
American athlete Jim Thorpe lost his Olympic medals after taking expense money prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics for playing baseball, a violation of Olympic amateurism rules.
