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Tuariki Delamere’s Somersault Could Have Launched a New Era in the Olympic Long Jump
The New Zealander came up with a better way to jump, using a front flip in midair. But the sport’s stodgy authorities shut him down before the 1975 Games.
Once you leave the ground you maintain the same horizontal velocity as you had on the runway, and the only remaining force is gravity ( mg), which eventually brings you down to earth. People often think this running motion makes the jumper go farther, but it doesn't—with traditional techniques, your distance is pretty much set once you take off, just as in our ball model above. As the athlete rotates in the air, the tucked position brings the feet forward quickly to make contact with the ground in front of the jumper.
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