Weather was quite bad in Tokyo that night of August 30^th, 1991. A typhoon was expected, there was no rain, but it felt quite sticky. There was occasional lightening, electrifying the World Athletic Championships. Wind was blowing from behind the long jumpers, boosting their efforts. The legally permissible limit for jumps to be considered legal (worthy of being considered as records) is 2 metres per second. Bob Beamon’s 1968 record of 8.90m had been made under similarly muggy conditions, but Mexico City is also quite above sea level whereas Tokyo is located at sea-level itself. Call it a sports myth or belief or dignify it as sports science, what you will, but it is widely accepted by pundits and peddlers that altitude aids in ‘burst’ events like jumps and sprints. Whether it is gravity, or oxygen levels, cannot be conclusively said, but long jump experts believe high altitude can improve the jump by as much as 30 centimetres. (quack data, I concede, but not newly concocted, I assure you)

Carl Lewis had broken the World Record in Men’s 100m event just two days before the long jump event had begun. The 30-year old was undefeated in long jump events since 1981, and had won 65 consecutive contests in the last decade. Carl was the Long Jump Olympic Gold medallist in 1984 and 1988, and World Champion in 1983 and 1987. In 1991, he had appeared in only one event- at the American Championships, but had won there in the last round by leaping over Powell’s jump by a solitary centimetre. So yes, Carl Lewis was the most celebrated athlete in the world, touted even as the GOAT, but his great competitor,  fellow-American Mike Powell, who had taken silver at Seoul by jumping 8.49m to Carl’s 8.72m, and whose personal best was now 8.66m, had almost bridged the gap between the two of them. In 1991, Mike had won 13 of 14 competitions he had appeared in, the sole loss coming to Lewis in the American Championships. There was a lot of buzz around the Long Jump final which was expected to be a cracker, but the drama that unfolded that night surpassed all expectations.

In his first jump, Powell faltered a bit with his rhythm, and could only record 7.85m. Carl, the Consistent, ran in like dream, took a huge leap, remained air-borne for a good time and managed to jump 8.68m, setting the World Championships record. This jump was better than what anyone had jumped in 1991 so far (which was 8.66m). That was the thing with Lewis. He could make every jump after jump count with his consistency, whereas Powell was erratic but his peak was much better than his average. In his second jump, Powell managed 8.54m, whereas Lewis committed a stepping foul. In his third attempt, Mike Powell jumped 8.29m (zero wind), but with wind carrying him at almost 3m/s, Lewis literally flew to 8.83m. Woof! that was it, surely, with half the attempts gone. Or do the audience thought. And then Mike fouled in his fourth, whereas Carl the Man flew again. This time, backed by wind at 2.9mps, he jumped an astonishing 8.91m. Oh my God, he had surpassed Bob Beamon’s Mexico City record of 8.90m, and although wind rendered it illegal for the purpose of records, it was solid gold as far as this competition was concerned.  After four rounds, this battle seemed all but over. Would Carl Lewis be able to officially break Beamon’s record was now the only question?  Mike Powell, though, had not yet given up, and that is what really mattered in the end.

As Powell ran in for his fifth attempt, he might have noticed Carl standing in the way, possibly to play mind-games. Powell’s sprint seemed rhythmic, take-off looked perfect, quite clear of the foul-line, and then landing was copybook. The jump, unaided by wind, seemed so long and beautiful and for want of better word, ‘perfect’, that even 9m seemed possible. It turned out to be 8.95m, that is 29 feet and 4.25 inches, and since wind was under maximum permissible limit (0.3mps), Mike Powell was adjudged to have broken the World Record. Bob Beamon was history, Powell was the man of the hour. Tables had turned. One freakish jump had brought the house down.

Carl still had two jumps left, while had Mike one more. The great Carl Lewis’s response was icy cool. He ran in hard, jumped with damn near full-control, and leapt 8.87m unaided. This was going to be his best official unaided jump. Mike’s sixth and the attempt was ruled a foul. Sprinting with tears in his eyes, Carl Lewis nevertheless jumped 8.84m unaided in his final jump. Despite recording 8.68, 8.83, 8.91, 8.87 and 8.84, Carl had to settle for Silver. Mike Powell’s World Record jump of 8.95m earned him the Gold at Tokyo World Championships 1991.

33 years later, this record still stands intact. Long Jump records have a tendency of remaining unbroken for long time.  Jesse Owens’s record of 8.13m stood from 1935 to 1960. After breaking Owens’ record in 1960, Ralph Boston bettered the record from 8.21m to 8.35m in the next eight years. At 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Bob Beamon broke Boston’s record by a whopping 55 centimetres! Mike Powell finally broke Bob’s record after a wait of 23 long years. And 33 years have passed by since that ‘long night of LJs’ in Tokyo.

Carl Lewis did not let this disappointment bog him down. At Barcelona 1992, he jumped 8.67m to Mike Powell’s 8.64m and claimed his third LJ Olympics Gold. After lying low for 2-3 seasons, he managed to qualify for Atlanta Olympics in the same event, and at the ripe age of 35, made history by winning his fourth Olympics gold medal in Long Jump. He jumped 8.50m, 0.21m clear of the next best. Carl’s exploits as a sprinter need a separate and much larger discussion. Mike Powell won silver at Barcelona, gold at Stuttgart World Championships in 1993, and bronze at Gothenburg in 1995, before gradually fading away from the scene. But that night in Tokyo, incidentally very early morning in India, where I watched this event on the good old Doordarshan while getting ready for school shall remain etched in my memory. Strangely, what has remained strongly with me is the pity that I, and my dad, had felt for Lewis, rather than ecstasy at Powell’s feat. How Carl Lewis maintained his composure during the last two jumps and managed to give his very best has served as lifelong inspiration.

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