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Jonathan Edwards (triple jumper)

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Jonathan Edwards
CBE
Edwards at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Personal information
Full nameJonathan David Edwards
NationalityEnglish
Born (1966-05-10) 10 May 1966 (age 58)[1]
Westminster, London, England
EducationWest Buckland School
Alma materVan Mildert College, Durham University
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Weight71 kg (157 lb) [3]
Sport
SportAthletics
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 1 0
World Championships 2 1 2
World Indoor Championships 0 1 0
European Championships 1 0 1
European Indoor Championships 1 0 0
Commonwealth Games 1 2 0
Total 6 5 3
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Triple jump
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Triple jump
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1995 Gothenburg Triple jump
Gold medal – first place 2001 Edmonton Triple jump
Silver medal – second place 1997 Athens Triple jump
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Stuttgart Triple jump
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Seville Triple jump
World Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place 2001 Lisbon Triple jump
Goodwill Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 New York Triple jump 
Gold medal – first place 2001 Brisbane Triple jump 
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1998 Budapest Triple jump
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Munich Triple jump
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 1998 Valencia Triple jump
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Triple jump
Silver medal – second place 1990 Auckland Triple jump
Silver medal – second place 1994 Victoria Triple jump

Jonathan David Edwards, CBE (born 10 May 1966) is a British former triple jumper. He is an Olympic, double World, European, European indoor and Commonwealth champion, and has held the world record in the event since 1995. Edwards is widely regarded as the greatest triple-jumper in history.

Following his retirement as an athlete, Edwards has worked as a sports (primarily athletics) commentator and presenter for BBC television, before moving to Eurosport. Formerly a devout Christian, he also presented episodes of the BBC Christian worship programme Songs of Praise, but ended his association with the programme in 2007 when he said he had lost his faith. In 2011 he was elected President of the Wenlock Olympian Society following the death of its then President, Roy Rogers. He was a member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the 2012 games.

Education

[edit]

Edwards was born in Westminster, London and attended West Buckland School[4] in Devon where his potential for the triple jump was spotted at an early age. He was a strong all-rounder, and on leaving received the school's top award for sporting and academic excellence, the Fortescue Medal.

Contemporaries with Edwards at West Buckland School included Victor Ubogu and Steve Ojomoh, both former Bath and England Rugby international players. Edwards now has a Sports Hall at West Buckland named after him, The Jonathan Edwards Sports Centre. Edwards then studied Physics at Durham University, attending Van Mildert College.

Athletics career

[edit]

Due to his strong Christian beliefs during his athletic career, discussed in more detail below, he initially refused to compete on Sundays,[5] but eventually decided to do so in 1993. This decision proved timely, since the qualifying round at that year's World Championships took place on a Sunday. He went on to win the bronze medal.[citation needed]

In his breakthrough year of 1995, Edwards produced a jump of 18.43 m (60 feet 5+1⁄2 inches) at the European Cup. The leap was wind assisted and did not count for record purposes, but it was a sign of things to come as he capped an unbeaten year with a historic gold medal performance at the World Championships, in which he broke the world record twice in the same meeting. On his first jump, he became the first man to legally pass the 18-metre barrier with a jump of 18.16 m (59 feet 7 inches). That record lasted for about 20 minutes. His second jump of 18.29 m made him the first to jump 60 feet. During his commentary for the 2008 Summer Olympics, Edwards observed that during the 1995 World Championships, he felt as if "he could jump as far as he needed to". Later that same year, Edwards became the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.[6]

During 1996 Edwards went into the 1996 Summer Olympics as favourite and world record holder, but it was American Kenny Harrison who took the gold with a jump of 18.09 m. Edwards walked away with the silver after a leap of 17.88 m (the longest ever jump not to win gold). Edwards won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics,[7] and was appointed a CBE shortly thereafter. He also won golds at the 2001 World Championships and 2002 Commonwealth Games. At one point in 2002, Edwards held all the gold medals for the "four majors" (Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships). He retired after the 2003 World Championships.[8]

Post-athletics career

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Jonathan Edwards at the University of Ulster Winter Graduation Ceremony, Tuesday, 19 December 2006

Following his retirement, Edwards has pursued a media career as a television presenter mainly working for the BBC as a sports commentator and presenter, and on programmes such as Songs of Praise until he gave up this programme, due to his loss of faith, in February 2007.[9]

Edwards regularly presents BBC coverage of athletics. When he is not presenting coverage, Edwards often provides expert analysis on field events as part of the BBC commentary team.

Edwards also received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2002.[10]

After retiring from competition, Edwards became a keen recreational cyclist[11] and has presented the BBC's coverage of cycle racing since 2012. He also covered the 2014 Winter Olympics for the BBC and the 2014 Winter Paralympics for Channel 4.[3]

Edwards also served as a presenter for the Olympic Announcement ceremonies during the IOC sessions in Guatemala in 2007 and Copenhagen in 2009.

In 2004, Edwards joined with Paula Radcliffe on an Olympic Special Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The pair raised £64,000 for charity with half of that sum going to the British Olympic Association and a quarter of the sum going to Asthma UK.[12]

In 2011, Edwards became President of Wenlock Olympian Society, organisers of the annual Wenlock Olympian Games held in Shropshire.[13]

He was a member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, representing athletes in the organisation of the 2012 Summer Olympics.[14]

In February 2016, after 13 years with the BBC, Edwards announced that he had agreed to join Eurosport on an exclusive contract as the channel's lead presenter from 2017, although he would continue working for the BBC and Channel 4 on their coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics alongside duties with Eurosport until the end of 2016, with his first anchoring role for the pay TV channel being the 2016 European Aquatics Championships in May in London.[15]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Result
Representing  Great Britain and  England
1987 Universiade Zagreb, Yugoslavia 9th Triple jump 15.96 m
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 23rd (q) Triple jump 15.88 m
1989 World Cup Barcelona, Spain 3rd Triple jump 17.28 m
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 2nd Triple jump 16.93 m (w)
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 35th (q) Triple jump 15.76 m
World Cup Havana, Cuba 1st Triple jump 17.34 m
1993 World Indoor Championships Toronto, Canada 6th Triple jump 16.76 m
World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 3rd Triple jump 17.44 m
1994 Goodwill Games Saint Petersburg, Russia 7th Triple jump 16.57 m
European Championships Helsinki, Finland 6th Triple jump 16.85 m
Commonwealth Games Victoria, Canada 2nd Triple jump 17.00 m
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 1st Triple jump 18.29 m
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 2nd Triple jump 17.88 m
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece 2nd Triple jump 17.69 m
1998 European Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 1st Triple jump 17.43 m
Goodwill Games Uniondale, United States 1st Triple jump 17.65 m
European Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st Triple jump 17.99 m
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain 3rd Triple jump 17.48 m
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 1st Triple jump 17.71 m
2001 World Indoor Championships Lisbon, Portugal 2nd Triple jump 17.26 m
World Championships Edmonton, Canada 1st Triple jump 17.92 m
Goodwill Games Brisbane, Australia 1st Triple jump 17.26 m
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, United Kingdom 1st Triple jump 17.86 m
European Championships Munich, Germany 3rd Triple jump 17.32 m
World Cup Madrid, Spain 1st Triple jump 17.34 m
2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 4th Triple jump 17.19 m
World Championships Paris, France 12th Triple jump 16.31 m

Personal bests

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  • Triple Jump – 18.29 m (WR),[1][16] 18.43 m (w +2.4 m) (not ratified due to excessive wind conditions)[16]
  • 100 m – 10.48 s[1]
  • Long jump – 7.41 m[1]

Awards

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An honorary doctorate was conferred upon him at a ceremony at the University of Exeter on 21 January 2006.[17]

Later in the same year, an honorary doctorate of the university (DUniv) was conferred upon him at the winter graduation ceremony of the University of Ulster (19 December 2006).[18]

Edwards also received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2002.[citation needed]

Personal life

[edit]

Edwards lives with his wife in Newcastle upon Tyne. They have two sons.[citation needed]

Edwards was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to the 2014 referendum on that issue.[19]

Religious beliefs

[edit]

Edwards initially refused to compete on Sundays due to his devout Christian beliefs, a decision that cost him a chance to compete in the 1991 World Championships. However, in 1993, after much deliberation and discussion with his father (a vicar), he changed his mind, deciding that God gave him his talent in order for him to compete in athletics. He once said "My relationship with Jesus and God is fundamental to everything I do. I have made a commitment and dedication in that relationship to serve God in every area of my life."[9]

He presented episodes of the Christian television show Songs of Praise until 2007. In June 2007, in an interview in The Times, Edwards said: "When you think about it rationally, it does seem incredibly improbable that there is a God." In the same interview, he stated: "Looking back now, I can see that my faith was not only pivotal to my decision to take up sport but also my success... I was always dismissive of sports psychology when I was competing, but I now realise that my belief in God was sports psychology in all but name." He also said: "I feel internally happier than at any time of my life."[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Jonathan Edwards". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jonathan Edwards". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b MacLeary, John (12 February 2014). "Twenty questions with ... former Olympic triple jump gold medallist and world record holder Jonathan Edwards". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Visitors to WBS: Jonathan Edwards". Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  5. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (4 August 2008). "An email conversation with Jonathan Edwards". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Sports Personality: Jonathan Edwards wins in 1995". BBC Sport. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Jonathan Edwards: 'The overriding emotion was not of happiness but relief'". The Independent. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  8. ^ Steve Smythe (1 December 2020). "Jonathan Edwards' great strides". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  9. ^ a b Knight, Tom (12 February 2007). "Olympian Jonathan Edwards has 'crisis of faith'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Heriot--Watt University Edinburgh & Scottish Borders: Annual Review 2002–2003" (PDF). www1.hw.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  11. ^ Monk, Viki (19 May 2015). "Cycling in the Lakes: Jonathan Edwards's favourite routes". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Paula Radcliffe an asthmatic herself raises money for Asthma UK in TV competition". Medical News Today. 21 May 2004. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Jonathan Edwards CBE has accepted the post of President of the Wenlock Olympian Society". Wenlock Olympian Society. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  14. ^ Jonathan Edwards appointed to the new London 2012 board Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine london2012.com
  15. ^ Sweeney, Mark; Gibson, Owen (17 February 2016). "BBC's Jonathan Edwards makes the jump to Eurosport in exclusive deal". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Triple Jump – men – senior – outdoor". IAAF. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  17. ^ Honorary Graduates of the University – Doctor of Laws (LLD) Archived 22 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine exeter.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  18. ^ UU Honours Olympian Jonathan Edwards Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine ulster.ac.uk
  19. ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  20. ^ "'I have never been happier' says the man who won gold but lost God", The Times, 27 June 2007.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jonathan Edwards (athlete).
Records
Preceded by Men's Triple Jump World Record Holder
8 July 1995 – present 		Incumbent
Awards and achievements
Preceded by BBC Sports Personality of the Year
1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's European Athlete of the Year
1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's European Athlete of the Year
1998 		Succeeded by
Preceded by L'Équipe's International Champion of Champions
1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United Press International
Athlete of the Year
1995 		Succeeded by
none
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