Olympic icon denounces proposed rule change as an 'April Fool's joke'

ATHLETIC ICON Carl Lewis has rejected proposals to change the long jump, saying: is it April 1 yet?

SunSport revealed on Monday that World Athletics bosses are trialling a new format where long jumpers use a 'start zone' instead of a starting board.

Carl Lewis has criticized the new proposals to change the long jump formatCredit: AFP

Lewis won four of his nine Olympic gold medals in the long jumpCredit: Reuters

The governing body says data collected at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest showed a THIRD of all attempts were recorded as no-jumps.

The regulation experiment will take place throughout the year in lower level competitions and the jumps will be measured from the front of the take-off foot within that zone.

It will not be part of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games program – the competition will remain the same.

Should it prove successful and receive full support from the top stars, it could be implemented from 2026 onwards.

Lewis – winner of four consecutive Olympic long jump titles between 1984 and 1996 – is not a fan of the concept.

The American, 62, said: “You have to wait until April Fool's Day for April Fool's Day jokes.

“It actually wouldn't change the distances that much. You would just see more bad jumps measured.”

Lewis's dismay is also matched by Britain's leading female long jumper, Jazmin Sawyers, who believes there are more downsides than upside to the idea.

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The reigning European long indoor champion believes the potential positives are that every jump counts, bigger jumps can be achieved and it can prevent slipping on the board.

But from her perspective, the negatives are the difficulties in implementing it at the grassroots level – given the computer technology involved – and the potential for it to encourage some to cheat.

Sawyers also thinks there will be less drama, no more super imposed measurements on TV, the audience won't be able to tell if it's a big jump and hitting the starting board will remain “an essential part of the skill”.

She said: “I think there are a lot of reasons not to do it.

“I appreciate them trying to do something. But this is how I look at it. I don't think this particular innovation is a good idea.

“I would also like to say: Can we stop doing the long jump? Can we just leave it alone?

“Maybe just try it at another event. Try something different. I don't think this is what long jump needs. The idea of speeding up measurement – that's great.

“At the British Championship last weekend it sometimes took over a minute to get each result, which really slowed down the pace of the competition.

“It made it all a bit more boring. While it could have been a bit more exciting.

“The idea of speeding up the measurement is great. I don't think you can do that if you add this starting zone.”

The Stoke leaver, whose personal best is seven metres, added: “We have removed an essential element of the skill of the long jump. Part of the skill is that you have to hit the board.

“If you take that away, the event changes completely. I don't think you can then compare the old records with the new records. It just becomes another event if part of the skill doesn't hit the board.

“A big part of the drama of the event is whether anyone will hit the board or not. What matters is if they were that close.

“Was it a foul? Wasn't it a violation? That drama has been taken away and we are really doing something different.

“Yes, we still just jump in the sand. But the idea that we are trying to achieve a certain goal is part of the skill.

“If runners didn't have to shoot and could go whenever they wanted, and we just got the fastest time, it would just be a time trial.

“It would be a different event. I think this will be a different event.

“I don't think there's anything wrong with the long jump. I think having a board is part of the drama.”