Jonathan Edwards set the triple jump world record of 18.29m on 7 August 1995 at the World Championships in Gothenburg. Despite advancements in sports science and training, no one has surpassed this record in 30 years, leading Edwards to question the health of the sport. He achieved the record by first jumping 18.16m and then improving it by 13cm shortly after. Edwards, who viewed himself as a sprinter and not just a jumper, attributes his success to changes in technique that improved his balance.
I don't think it's a good sign for athletics as a sport that you have a record that stands for 30 years. 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 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 was the event's form athlete that year, arriving in Sweden as the world record holder after jumping 17.98 to beat American Willie Banks' previous mark by one centimetre.
He has always described himself as a sprinter, rather than a jumper, likening his contact with the ground through the hop-step-jump phases to a pebble skimming the water.
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