Carl Lewis Spearheads List Of Most Successful Male Long Jumpers at the Summer Olympics

Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis

The Long Jump event comes under track and field jumping events held at the Summer Olympics.

The men's long jump has been part of the Summer Olympics since 1896, when the first Summer Olympics was held. The women's long jump was added to the program at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

With the Tokyo Olympics coming upon us, let's take a look at the 5 Most Successful Male Long Jumpers at the Summer Olympics.

(Note - Ranking is based on gold medal count. If athletes have an equal number of gold medals, then the number of silver medals, and further bronze medals, are used as the deciding factors for the rankings).


#5 - Arnie Robinson - USA - 1972, 1976

(Ranking - Athlete - Country - Years of Olympic Participation)

Total - 2 (Gold - 1, Silver - 0, Bronze - 1)

Arnie Robinson picked up bronze at the 1972 Summer Olympics with a jump of 8.03m.

Four years later, the American jumped 8.35m to pick up gold at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.


#5 - Greg Rutherford - Great Britain - 2008, 2012, 2016

Total - 2 (Gold - 1, Silver - 0, Bronze - 1)

Greg Rutherford
Greg Rutherford

Great Britain's Greg Rutherford won the gold medal with a jump of 8.31m at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Rutherford followed that with a bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics with a jump of 8.29m.

The Brit plans to be part of Eurosport's coverage of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.


#3 - Meyer Prinstein - USA - 1900, 1904

Total* - 2 (Gold - 1, Silver - 1, Bronze - 0)

American Meyer Prinstein picked up silver at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris with a jump of 7.175m. He then went on to pick up gold at the 1904 Summer Olympics with a jump of 7.34m.

(Note * - Total here refers to total medals won by Prinstein in the long jump event. Prinstein has also won Olympic medals in other athletic disciplines).


#3 - Randel Luvelle Williams - USA - 1972, 1976

Total - 2 (Gold - 1, Silver - 1, Bronze - 0)

Randel Luvelle Williams picked up a gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich with a jump of 8.24m.

Four years later, the American also won a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics with a jump of 8.11m.


#2 - Ralph Boston - USA - 1960, 1964, 1968

Total - 3 (Gold - 1, Silver - 1, Bronze - 1)

American athlete Ralph Boston
American athlete Ralph Boston

American Ralph Boston has won 3 long jump medals at the Summer Olympics.

Boston's first was a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome with a jump of 8.12m.

Four years later in Tokyo, the American picked up silver with a jump of 8.03m.

In his third and final Summer Olympics in 1968, the American claimed bronze with a jump of 8.16m to finish his career with one medal in each category.


#1 - Carl Lewis - USA - 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996

Total* - 4 (Gold - 4, Silver - 0, Bronze - 0)

Carl Lewis wins the gold medal in Men's Long Jump competition at the XXVI Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Carl Lewis wins the gold medal in Men's Long Jump competition at the XXVI Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Carl Lewis is one of only three Olympians to win the same individual event (the long jump in his case) on four occasions.

Lewis picked up his first long jump gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics with a jump of 8.54m. The American followed that to win gold at the 1988 Summer Olympics with a jump of 8.72m.

Lewis continued his dominance in the event by winning the long jump in Barcelona with a jump of 8.67m and for a fourth time in 1996 with a jump of 8.50m.

Lewis is also one of only four Olympic athletes to have won nine Olympic gold medals (his other medals came across different athletic disciplines).

(Note * - Total here refers to total medals won by Lewis in the long jump event. Lewis has also won Olympic medals in other athletic disciplines).

(With inputs from the official Olympic website)


Also Read: Carl Lewis among the 5 Most Successful American Male Sprinters At Summer Olympics

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Edited by Rohit Mishra