Editing Long jump (section)

==History==
{{See also|History of physical training and fitness}}
[[File:Halteres from ancient Greece.JPG|thumb|[[Halteres (ancient Greece)|Halteres]] used in athletic games in ancient Greece]]
{{Multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width = 300
| image1            = Long jump Ancient Greeece.jpg
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| image2            = A competitor in the long jump, Black-figured Tyrrhenian amphora showing athletes and a combat scene, Greek, but made for the Etruscan market, 540 BC, found near Rome, Winning at the ancient Games, British Museum (7675649600).jpg
| width2            = 
| footer            = A long jump from standing. The jumper on the left performs a distinctive [[Isometric exercise#Isometric presses as preparation for explosive power movements|isometric press]], primarily by applying downward pressure onto his bent rear leg. This acts as a means of preloading the muscles prior to engaging in the jump. The halteres would be swung up and down before taking off on an upswing. The jumper to the right of him is mid-flight and performs a distinctive bending and tucking of his legs in order to increase the distance of the jump. The vase on the right shows a jumper coming in to land.
}}The long jump is the only known jumping event of ancient Greece's original Olympics' pentathlon events. All events that occurred at the Olympic Games were initially supposed to act as a form of training for warfare. The long jump emerged probably because it mirrored the crossing of obstacles such as streams and ravines.<ref name="AOG_book">{{cite book|last=Swaddling|first=Judith|title=The Ancient Olympic Games|year=1999|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=0292777515|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ancientolympicga00swad}}</ref> After investigating the surviving depictions of the ancient event it is believed that unlike the modern event, athletes were only allowed a short running start.<ref name="AOG_book" /> The athletes carried a weight in each hand, which were called [[Halteres (ancient Greece)|halteres]] (between 1 and 4.5&nbsp;kg). These weights were swung forward as the athlete jumped in order to increase momentum. It was commonly believed that the jumper would throw the weights behind him in midair to increase his forward momentum; however, halteres were held throughout the duration of the jump. Swinging them down and back at the end of the jump would change the athlete's center of gravity and allow the athlete to stretch his legs outward, increasing his distance. The jump itself was made from the ''bater'' ("that which is trod upon"). It was most likely a simple board placed on the stadium track which was removed after the event. The jumpers would land in what was called a ''skamma'' ("dug-up" area). The idea that this was a pit full of sand is wrong. Sand in the jumping pit is a modern invention.<ref name="Stephen G. Miller 2004, p.66">[[#Miller|Miller]], p. 66</ref> The ''skamma'' was simply a temporary area dug up for that occasion and not something that remained over time.

The long jump was considered one of the most difficult of the events held at the Games since a great deal of skill was required. Music was often played during the jump and Philostratus says that pipes at times would accompany the jump so as to provide a rhythm for the complex movements of the halteres by the athlete.<ref name="AOG_book" /> Philostratus  is quoted as saying, "The rules regard jumping as the most difficult of the competitions, and they allow the jumper to be given advantages in rhythm by the use of the flute, and in weight by the use of the halter."<ref>[[#Miller|Miller]], p. 67</ref> Most notable in the ancient sport was a man called [[Chionis of Sparta|Chionis]], who in the 656 BC Olympics staged a jump of {{T&Fcalc|7.05}}.<ref name="ancient_origins">{{cite web | url = http://www.times-olympics.co.uk/communities/athletics/athleticsancient.html | archive-url = https://archive.today/20070311052052/http://www.times-olympics.co.uk/communities/athletics/athleticsancient.html | archive-date = 11 March 2007 | title = Ancient Origins | access-date = 29 October 2006 | website = The Times/The Sunday Times }}</ref>

There has been some argument by modern scholars over the long jump. Some have attempted to recreate it as a [[triple jump]]. The images provide the only evidence for the action so it is more well received that it was much like today's long jump. The main reason some want to call it a triple jump is the presence of a source that claims there once was a fifty-five ancient foot jump done by a man named Phayllos.<ref>[[#Miller|Miller]], p. 68</ref>

The long jump has been part of modern Olympic competition since the inception of the [[Summer Olympic Games|Games]] in 1896. In 1914, Dr. Harry Eaton Stewart recommended the "running broad jump" as a standardized track and field event for women.<ref name="Tricard">{{cite book | last = Tricard | first = Louise Mead | title = American Women's Track & Field: A History, 1895 Through 1980| date= 1 July 1996 | publisher = McFarland & Company | isbn = 0-7864-0219-9 | pages = 60–61}}</ref> However, it was not until 1948 that the women's long jump was added to the [[Athletics at the Olympics|Olympic athletics programme]].