Emulating the American's stunning 1968 feat will inspire many in London, but, he tells Simon Turnbull, he nearly did not make the long jump final
I went out and had a few shots of tequila – a little something to settle myself in.” His discretion meant that he didn’t mention he also had sex with his girlfriend, Gloria, as he noted in his autobiography. And, with most of the media focused on the 400-meter finals that was scheduled to begin immediately after the start of the long jump, he was practically the only photographer stationed by the pit, and he was just 50 feet away.The competition began shortly after 3:30 p.m. If Lynn jumps as well as he can he will do perhaps 27½ft. Duffy divorced his wife, and quit accountancy at the end of 1971. East German Klaus Beer became the answer to a trivia question by finishing second (26’10½”), with the veteran Boston regaining his composure to take third (26’9½”).Two days after Smith and Carlos startled the world with their demonstration, Beamon raised eyebrows when he accepted the gold medal with his warm-up pants tucked inside a pair of black socks that stretched to his calves.Tony Duffy had snapped exactly one frame of Beamon’s jump. Boston, Davies, and Ter-Ovanesyan did so, as did Charles Mays, the third American in the field. 50 stunning Olympic moments No2: Bob Beamon's great leap forward As great sporting 'Blimey!' "I felt like I was in a fantasy world," he told IBD.
His elder brother Andrew was brain-damaged at birth by the kicking his mother received from his father when she was pregnant and Bob was repeatedly beaten himself, following the death of his mother, before his first birthday. moments go, the shattering of the long-jump world record in 1968 still stands at the pinnacleBob Beamon's giant leap. I was never really into photography as a medium. “None of the demonstrations or violence has at any times been directed against the Olympic Games,” it read. Finally, in 1991 at the world track and field championships in Tokyo, Mike Powell leaped 8.95 meters–29’4½”–to surpass Beamon.Tony Duffy happened to be sitting in the stands that evening. The rain was holding off.
The long jump was the first event on the afternoon program and as the athletes began their warm-up routines, Duffy noticed that the stadium was slow to fill. Boston was still the current co-holder of the world record, along with his rival from the Soviet Union, Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, at 27’4¾.”The subject came around to Bob Beamon, Boston’s precocious American teammate, “a slash of a man, 6’3”, 160 pounds,” according to Sports Illustrated. Animation: Jonny Weeks for the Guardian. Ralph said to me: ‘Don’t get him angry, Lynn, or he will jump clean out of the pit.’ But there’s a lot more to it than natural ability. Bob Beamon had a jump that was so far, measuring equipment had to be altered. Beamon fouled badly on his first two jumps.Boston played the role of mentor and advised Beamon to take off well short of the board to ensure a clean if unspectacular jump. He worked with the He traveled the world shooting the most important sporting events (including those behind the Iron Curtain). That was about it.”Patricia Nutting, an 80-meter hurdler who was talented enough to represent Great Britain in three Olympics, was one of those girlfriends.
Animation: Jonny Weeks for the Guardian. But he had sprinter’s speed, which Carlos helped him harness and hone, and he caught fire in the months preceding the Olympics. He concentrated on shooting female athletes–“my personal Now 78, he lives in Southern California in an airy condominium on bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He hovered as high as six feet above the sand, estimated Jesse Owens, who was watching through binoculars.“He took off running, man, and when he hit the board he just kept climbing,” John Carlos told me.As gravity took over, Beamon swung his arms backwards and outside his legs for one last thrust.
“I started taking pictures of her in action out of something to do, rather than just sit and watch.”His photos turned out quite well, especially the action shots, and Nutting encouraged him to send them to a local track-and-field magazine. They rented out a little studio in the back of a friend’s insurance business.
“My eyes were shot in those days.”Duffy worked his last Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, not long after he and Allsport split ways. Just the same I think he can win the gold because he’s the best competitor.