World Athletics’ proposed change to the horizontal boards, which proved to be wildly unpopular among jumpers, has been put to bed once and for all.
As per The Guardian, World Athletics’ chief executive officer Jon Ridgeon reported that the governing body has scrapped the idea of introducing a 40-centimeter take-off zone for the long jump and triple jump.
Olympic Champion Miltiadis Tentoglou had previously referred to the idea as “dog shit.” Carl Lewis referred to the idea as an “April Fool’s joke.” Within a couple of hours of the popular Instagram page jumpers.world posting the news, World Champion Mattia Furlani posted a GIF in the comments of popping champagne.
The proposed change would have been a shift from the current model of having a 20-centimeter take-off board with a 10-centimeter strip for fouls and measuring jumps from the end of the board. Instead, jumps would have been measured from the point of take-off anywhere inside a 40-centimeter section and validated with a laser.
World Athletics tested out the idea at two World Athletics Indoor Tour events last February in Düsseldorf and Berlin. They reported that fouls decreased by 13% over the two events. They also noted that 70% of casual fans preferred the 40-centimeter take-off boards, while the ratio flipped among jumpers and coaches, with the majority critical of the changes.
Some jumpers refused to participate in the trial events to boycott the proposed changes, but former Olympic Champion Malaika Mihambo was among the athletes in attendance. After the trial, she said, “I appreciate the concept of utilising the entire board, as it enhances momentum and provides better feedback while allowing me to choose my own take-off point. However, this approach also makes it more challenging for both athletes and spectators to estimate distances.”
On the proposed change, Ridgeon said, “The athletes do not want to embrace it.” He also said that World Athletics didn’t regret trying out the boards, adding, “We would be accused of being asleep at the wheel if we didn’t look for weaknesses.”
Ridgeon also expressed frustration that most people focused on that one proposed change while World Athletics was trying out four or five proposed changes.
“[The changes] include simple things like getting the officials to rake the pit quicker. We’re also working with Seiko to create a concept called instant results. So when you land in a sandpit at the moment, it might take up to 20 seconds to get the result. We’re working on less than five seconds.”
Although the proposed changes were unpopular among jumpers, it does show that World Athletics was willing to consider the perspective of the athletes and coaches closest to the event before making changes.
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