My 30-year-old world record 'not a good sign for athletics' - Edwards
"I don't think it's a good sign for athletics as a sport that you have a record that stands for 30 years."Jonathan Edwards' pride in his triple jump world record is tinged with ...
"I don't think it's a good sign for athletics as a sport that you have a record that stands for 30 years."
Jonathan Edwards' pride in his triple jump world record is tinged with surprise at the fact no-one has surpassed the 18.29m he set on 7 August 1995 at the World Championships in Gothenburg.
"When you think of all the developments in sports science, nutrition, training methods, all of those things, I don't think it necessarily speaks to a really healthy and thriving sport, if I'm honest," Edwards, who is Britain's only track and field world record holder in regularly contested events, told BBC Sport.
Perhaps that plays down his own achievement. Only seven other men in history have surpassed the 18m mark.
But, if you subscribe to the view that records are there to be broken, then why is this one still standing?
Edwards was 'remarkable'
When Edwards arrived at Gothenburg's Ullevi Stadium, no-one had ever jumped beyond 18 metres in 'legal' wind conditions.
Within the first two rounds of the competition, he had managed it twice.
He landed beyond the measuring board with his opening-round jump of 18.16m and then added another 13cm to the record around 20 minutes later in what is one of British athletics'
greatest performances.
Will the record ever be broken?
The closest anyone has come to Edwards' record was 10 years ago when American Christian Taylor jumped 18.21m.
The world leading distance this year is 17.80m, while last year's Olympic gold was won with 17.86m.
"He [Edwards] can rest easy for a while," Romain said. "This is not an easy feat, I'm telling you."
Edwards says he does not know how he will feel if his record goes.
"It's been a part of me for so long now," said Edwards, whose record jump is depicted in a mosaic in Ilfracombe, Devon, where he lived in his teens. "Actually it would be nice if it carried on.
"It would be quite a good funeral [if there was] something down the aisle - 18.29m."
