Mike Powell (long jumper)

Michael Anthony Powell (born November 10, 1963) is an American former track and field athlete, the holder of the long jump world record, and a two-time world champion as well as two-time Olympic silver medalist in the event. His world record of Template:T&Fcalc was set on August 30, 1991.

Biography

Background

Powell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Edgewood High School in West Covina, California. In high school, he cleared a height of Template:Convert in the high jump at the CIF California State Meet in 1981.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He went to the University of California, Irvine and transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles. Since then, he is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Athletics career

Powell won the British AAA Championships title at the 1987 AAA Championships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1988, Powell won the long jump silver medal at the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.<ref name=sports-reference />

At the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo, Japan, on August 30, 1991, Powell broke Bob Beamon's almost 23-year-old long jump world record by Template:Convert, leaping Template:T&Fcalc.<ref>Mohapatra, Bikash (July 5, 2011). "I believed I could break the record: Mike Powell", [rediff.com]. Retrieved on September 7, 2021.</ref> The world record stands, making it the longest-standing long jump world record since records have been kept. The feat earned him the James E. Sullivan Award and BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year Award in 1991.Template:Citation needed

He also holds the longest wind-assisted jump at Template:T&Fcalc (+4.4 m/s), set at high altitude in 1992 in Sestriere, Italy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He again won the long jump silver at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.<ref name="sports-reference" /> At the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, he won the long jump for the second time,<ref name="usatf">Template:Cite web</ref> and was third at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.

During his professional career, Powell competed in the 1992–93 Foot Locker Slam Fest trying to dunk from the free throw line but failed. Mike Conley made a dunk from the free throw line and won the competition.Template:Citation needed After placing fifth in the long jump at the 1996 Olympics, Powell retired. He returned in 2001 with a goal of competing in the 2004 Olympics, but was not able to make the American team.

After retirement

Powell became an analyst for Yahoo! Sports Olympic Track & Field coverage. In July 2009, he announced that he would return to competition and planned to break Tapani Taavitsainen's Masters over-45 world record in the long jump.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

At the Simplot Games in Pocatello, Idaho on February 20, 2015, in an official announcement Powell said that he would jump again in competition. On March 7, 2015, Powell entered the Athletics New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Wellington, New Zealand in an attempt to break the World Masters record. However, Powell sustained an injury in warm-ups and did not compete.Template:Citation needed

In July 2016, his daughter Micha Powell was named as an alternate to Canada's Olympic team for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her mother, Rosey Edeh, ran in the 400 meters hurdles final at the 1996 Olympics.

Powell had coached long jump at the Azusa Pacific University in California during the 2023 season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, in 2025 he was suspended indefinitely by the Athletics Integrity Unit after a safeguarding concern, and is barred from all activities sanctioned by World Athletics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:World Athletics
• Template:USATF
• Template:Olympics.com
• Template:Olympedia
• Mike Powell at the California Sports Hall of Fame