Bob Beamon

Robert "Bob" Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American track and field athlete, best known for his long-standing world record in the long jump.

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Beamon, from Jamaica, New York, set a world record for the long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City with a jump of 8.90 m (29 ft. 2-1/2 in.). His world record stood for 23 years, and was named by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of the five greatest sports moments of the 20th century.

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Prior to Beamon?s jump, the world record had been broken 13 times since 1901, with an average increase of 0.06 m and the largest increase being 0.15 m. Beamon?s gold medal mark bettered the existing record by 0.55 m (21-3/4 in.) as he became the first person to reach both 28 and 29 feet.

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The defending Olympic champion, Lynn Davies of Wales, told Beamon, ?You have destroyed this event?, and in track and field jargon, a new adjective, ?Beamonesque? came into use to describe spectacular feats. Beamon?s record was broken in 1991 when Mike Powell jumped 8.95 m at the World Championships in Tokyo.

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August 29: August 29 is the 241st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (242nd in leap years), with 124 days remaining. It is also the 1st day of Thoth - which is the 1st day of the Egyptian Horoscope. Thoth is the Ibis-headed god of knowledge....

1946: 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. (see link for calendar)...

American: :This page disambiguates the many uses of American. For an article about those various uses, please see Use of the word American....

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