Mike Powell (long jumper)
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"Mike Powell (athlete)" redirects here. For other sportspeople with this name, see Mike Powell (disambiguation).
 Powell announces at press conference that he will attempt to break the World Masters record. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Anthony Powell[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | November 10, 1963 [1] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1] |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[2] |
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg)[2] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event(s) | Long jump |
Medal record[hide] | |
| Updated on 6 August 2012. | |
Contents
[hide]Biography[edit]
Background[edit]
Powell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Edgewood High School in West Covina, California, where he finished second in the High jump at the CIF California State Meet in 1981.[3] He went on to attend the University of California, Irvine and later transferred to the University of California at Los Angeles, is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.Athletics career[edit]
Powell won the long jump silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.[1] At the 1991 World Championships in Athletics (Tokyo), Powell broke Bob Beamon's almost 23-year-old long jump world record by 5 cm (2 inches), leaping 8.95 m (29 ft 41⁄4 in). The world record still stands, making Powell the fourth person since 1900 to hold the record for over 20 years. His feat earned him the James E. Sullivan Award and BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year Award in 1991. He also holds the longest non-legal jump of 8.99 m (29 ft 53⁄4 in) (wind-aided +4.4) set at high altitude in Sestriere, Italy in 1992.[4]Powell again won the long jump silver medal at 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.[1] In addition to his famous 1991 victory, he won the long jump again at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics,[2] and came third at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics.
Powell competed in the 1992-93 Foot Locker Slam Fest and successfully dunked from the free throw line. He is one of few individuals to dunk the basketball from this distance.
After the 1996 Olympics, Powell retired. He returned in 2001 with a goal of competing in the 2004 Olympics, but did not make the American team.
After retirement[edit]
 | This section of a biography of a living persondoes not include any references or sources. (June 2015) |
He stated in July 2009 that he intended to return to competition with the aim of breaking Tapani Taavitsainen's Masters over-45 world record in the long jump.[5]
Powell now coaches long jump permanently at the Academy of Speed in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
At the Simplot Games on February 20, 2015 in an official announcement Powell stated that, at the age of 51, he will jump again in competition. On March 7, 2015 Powell will compete in the Athletics New Zealand Track and Field Championships. Due to his every jump he makes in the competition will be considered an attempt at the World Masters record. Powell sustained an injury in warm up and didn't compete, but states he will jump in the future.
If he breaks the Masters record he will be the only athlete in any event to ever hold both the current World record and the World Masters record in that old of a division simultaneously. Yuriy Sedykh held both the world record and the record in the M45 division from 2001 to 2010. Jonathan Edwards and Jan Železný currently have the achievement in younger divisions, Jarmila Kratochvílová should also but her superior masters performance has never been recognized by World Masters Athletics. Haile Gebrselassie, Carlos Lopes and Jim Peters set both records simultaneously as 35 year olds.
References[edit]
- ^ Jump up to: abcde"Mike Powell". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: abc"Mike Powell". usatf.org. USA Track & Field. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- Jump up ^"California State Meet Results - 1915 to present". Hank Lawson. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
- Jump up ^"0 Toplists lj m - o". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
- Jump up ^Minshull, Phil (2009-07-07). Mike Powell aims to return to competition. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-07-23.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Mike Powell profile at IAAF
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Bob Beamon | Men's Long Jump World Record Holder August 30, 1991–present | Incumbent |
| Achievements | ||
| Preceded byLarry Myricks | Men's Long Jump Best Year Performance 1990 — 1991 | Succeeded byCarl Lewis |
| Preceded byCarl Lewis | Men's Long Jump Best Year Performance 1993 | Succeeded byErick Walder |
| Awards | ||
Preceded by Mal Meninga | BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year 1991 | Succeeded byAndre Agassi |
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Categories:
- 1963 births
- Living people
- American long jumpers
- Male long jumpers
- African-American track and field athletes
- James E. Sullivan Award recipients
- World record holders in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States
- Sportspeople from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- University of California, Los Angeles alumni
- University of California, Irvine alumni
- UC Irvine Anteaters athletes
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- World Championships in Athletics medalists
- Track and field people from California
