Jumping further

The Olympics were impressive and an inspiration for some lateral thinking. Pole vaulters can now reach 6m whiles high jumpers eclipse 2 meters. Both these feats could not be achieved in London in 1918. The main difference is not the increased strength of the athletes, the refinement of technique or the improvement in equipment, but the change in landing surface.

Nobody could jump 6 meters and land flat on their back or 2 meters and land on their neck if they were landing in a sand pit. Nobody would be mad enough to even try.

So what about the triple and long jump? What would change if they were given a different landing surface? I imagine long jumpers running up and diving head first into a pool. What distance could these athletes given a different landing surface achieve? Would there be a revolutionary change?

by Pedro Moura Pinheiro