World Record Is Set In the Triple Jump - NYTimes.com
World Record Is Set In the Triple Jump
Published: July 19, 1995
SALAMANCA, Spain, July 18— Jonathan Edwards of Britain broke the 10-year-old world record in the triple jump today with a jump of 59 feet in the Salamanca Provincial meet.
Edwards, a bronze medalist in the 1993 world championships, passed the mark of 58-11 1/2 set in Indianapolis in 1985 by Willie Banks of the United States. Edwards had been chasing Banks's record for the past month and jumped 60-5 3/4 with an illegal tail wind in a meet last month in Villeneuve d'Ascq, France. It was the longest triple jump under any conditions.
The record leap today came on the 29-year-old Briton's second jump with a tail wind of 1.8 meters a second. The legal limit is 2.0 meters a second.
Edwards passed on this third attempt after setting the record and then pulled up on his fourth attempt, appearing to strain a leg muscle on the final step as he began his takeoff. He skipped his final two jumps.
Edwards, who will be the favorite in next's month's world championships in Sweden, pulled out of last week's British trials with a sore ankle. He missed most of last season with a virus.