Jump Jump Jump - The Triple Jump Quiz

Answer: Leap

The first jump is the hop, the second jump is the step or skip, and the third jump is actually called the jump. Similar to the long jump, the goal of the triple jump is maximum distance.

Answer: Sand

For men, the sand pit usually starts about 13 meters (42 feet) from the initial takeoff point. Sand is a good absorber of shock on the knees. A harder landing surface wouldn't provide adequate support to mitigate injuries.

Answer: The second jump is off of a different foot than the first jump.

Similar to how we have dominant arms, people typically have a dominant leg that they are able to jump further off of. Amazingly, triple jumpers are able to jump far off of either leg. If a triple jumper's first jump was off the left foot then the second jump would also be off of the left foot and the third jump would be off of the right foot.

Answer: Athens 1896

The 1896 Summer Olympics were the first Olympic Games of the modern era. Since Greece was the birthplace of the Olympic Games it seemed only fitting that the Olympics were revitalized in Athens. The 1896 Olympics included 241 athletes in 43 events. The men's triple jump has been an event in every Summer Olympic Games.

Answer: Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards was a British triple jumper who won the silver medal at the 1996 Olympics and the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics. Edwards actually completed a triple jump longer than 18.29 meters but it was disqualified from world record recognition since the wind was above 2.0 meters per second.

After retiring from competition Jonathan Edwards worked for the BBC as a sports commentator and he was also a member of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympics.

Answer: Sweden

In addition to her gold medal at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg, Inessa Kravets won an Olympic gold medal in the triple jump in 1996. After Stockholm, Gothenburg is the most populous city in Sweden. World heavyweight champion boxer Ingemar Johansson was born in Gothenburg in 1932.

Answer: Viktor Saneyev

Viktor Saneyev set the triple jump world record twice in the same day. On October 17, 1968 at the Mexico City Olympic Games Saneyev completed triple jumps of 17.23 meters and 17.39 meters. After retiring from competition, Saneyev and his family moved to Australia where he eventually took a job as a jumping coach in Sydney.

Answer: Marion Jones

In the triple jump at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Françoise Mbango Etone placed first, Hrysopiyí Devetzí placed second, and Tatyana Lebedeva placed third. Etone finished first at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing while Lebedeva placed second and Devetzí placed third. Unlike the men's triple jump, which became an Olympic sport in 1896, the women's triple jump was not an Olympic sport until 1996 in Atlanta.

Answer: There was no running start before the first jump.

The standing triple jump was undertaken by a stationary start off of both feet and then the second and third jumps were undertaken off of different feet. The standing triple jump was an Olympic event at the 1900 Olympics in Paris and the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. Both of these competitions were won by Ray Ewry of the United States.

In addition to the standing triple jump, the standing high jump and the standing long jump were also events at early Olympic games.

Answer: The third jump was longer than the first and second jumps.

A triple jump would also be disqualified if an incorrect takeoff foot jump sequence is utilized. Typically the third jump is the longest of the three jumps but there is no rule that it must be longer than the first two.