Long Jump, Men

This event had no obvious favorite with several athletes considered possible gold medalists. The final was held on a Saturday night that became one of the great evenings in British sports history. The opening round saw Britain’s Chris Tomlinson take the lead at 8.06 metres. In the second round his teammate Greg Rutherford took over with a leap of 8.21, which would be good enough for the gold medal, although Rutherford would better it in round four with 8.31.

Australia’s Mitch Watt, considered among the possible medalists, struggled in the early going and barely made the final three rounds. After a fourth round foul he improved to 8.13 in round five, moving into second place, and then finished with 8.16 to take silver. Behind him American Will Claye recorded 8.12 in the fourth round, narrowly surpassing Sweden’s Michael Tornéus, who jumped 8.11 in the same round, with Claye taking bronze.

Rutherford’s leap of 8.31 occurred almost exactly as the women’s heptathlon 800 metres was starting, in which Jessica Ennis would bring Great Britain another gold medal. A bit later in the evening Mo Farah won the 10,000 metres giving Britain three gold medals on the night in front of their rabid fans.

Rutherford’s gold medal was the first medal in the event for Great Britain since Lynn Davies also won gold in 1964. Rutherford would return at Rio 2016 and add a bronze medal to his palmares. Claye would return five days after the long jump final and take bronze in the triple jump.

Greg Rutherford’s 8.31 winning mark was the shortest Olympic gold medal performance, both at the Olympic Games and World Championships, since Randy Williams (USA) jumped 8.24 to win at München 1972.