Check Out This Wonderful Vision of the Standing Long Jump at the 1912 Olympics
WOW. What a wonderful piece of athletics history. We are so lucky to be able to see such vision. There are so many things to enjoy about this, from the amazing skills of the athletes to the style of the officials’ uniforms at the time. I had a chuckle at the number of officials gathered around at the event (how many did you count?) and also at the people sitting and slouched about nearby, casually viewing the event.
Also, watch as the eventual gold medallist Konstantinos Tsiklitiras of Greece steps in after a competitor’s jump to check the measurement. The results tell us that he won by 1cm so we can understand his interest!
If you thought the silver and bronze medallists that we see standing either side of Tsiklitiras in the final stages of the video look similar – they are brothers! Their names are Platt Adams and Benjamin Adams.
These same three athletes all placed in the top 3 in the standing high jump at the same games, but in a different order.
I really encourage you to have a quick read about each of these athletes by clicking on the links to their biographies that I have provided above.
Overall, this video is a real gem, as are the stories surrounding it.
About the Standing Long Jump
Wikipedia tells us that the event was held at the Olympics between 1900 and 1912. Both the standing and the “running” long jump events were staged at each of these games.
The winning jump at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics – from where the film was taken – was 3.37m; second place was 3.36m and third was 3.28m.
From the video, it appears that the athletes were allowed to place their toes over the edge of the landing pit – but we can see that the official who is holding the tape measure is watching closely.
Learn More About the Standing High Jump
Read more about the history of the standing long jump HERE.
Read more about the 1912 Olympics standing long jump event and view the full results HERE.
Share this video with a young athlete
It’s great for young athletes to know about and respect the history of their sport. Show them this video and share some of the fascinating facts about the event with them.
What was your reaction to this video?
I would love to hear what you thought of this video and anything that stood out for you. Did you know that the standing long jump once existed? Should it still be an event in athletics? Do you use standing long jumps as part of your coaching repertoire? What did you think of the individual athletes’ stories? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment/reply or by using the contact details provided below.
Related:
Amazing Athletics History: The Standing High Jump
How To Teach Young Athletes To Long Jump (plus bonus cheat sheet) by Coaching Young Athletes
If this post helped you please take a moment to help others by sharing it on social media. If you want to learn more I encourage you to leave questions and comments or contact me directly.
Darren Wensor is a sports development professional, coach educator, specialist coach of young athletes, and founder of the blog coachingyoungathletes.com. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, or via email. Check out Coaching Young Athletes on YouTube, the Coaching Young Athletes podcast, and the Coaching Young Athletes E-Book Series.
Coaching Young Athletes 