In my opinion, few athletics events are more exciting and interesting than the long jump. The powerful sprint down the runway, the graceful jump as the jumper appears to float in mid-air, the sudden landing with a burst of sand – the long jump is truly amazing. But then I’m biased!

1: In my opinion, few athletics events are more exciting and interesting than the long jump. The powerful sprint down the runway, the graceful leap when the jumper appears to float in mid-air, the sudden landing with a burst of sand – the long jump is truly amazing. But then I’m biased!

2: If you look closely, you will notice that the jumper is still moving their arms and legs as if they are running on air. Although you might have assumed this helps propel the jumper farther into the air, the ‘ghost’ run is actually necessary for balance.

3: As the jumper runs down the track, he has a forward motion. When he plants his foot to propel himself into the air, the jumper’s lower body stops for a moment.

4: Meanwhile, the jumper’s upper body continues to move forward uncontrollably, creating a forward rotation of the body around its center of gravity. If corrective action is not taken, the forward rotation will cause the jumper to fall forward, head first, into the pit. How many times have we seen this!

5: Known as a “hook kick,” a running motion helps the jumper maintain balance in the air. When a person runs, he bends his knees when his legs move forward and straightens them when they move backward. In effect, it is a rapid forward rotation of the legs.

6: The windmill movements of the arms are also fast-forward rotations. Making some parts of the body rotate faster causes other parts of the body to rotate more slowly to compensate.

7: The movement of the arms and legs effectively exhausts the jumper’s body rotation, leaving nothing for the torso. That way, the torso can remain upright after takeoff.

8: It may sound complicated, but it is very easy to introduce a hitchhiker to a young man who has been blessed with above average levels of speed. It would not make sense to present this to a jumper who is comparatively slow. A hook kick requires air time, so speed is a prerequisite.

9: Hitchhiking is also known as “climbing” or “air running.” This technique counteracts the athlete’s rotational speed by cycling the arms and legs during flight, and is considered by many jump coaches to be the most complex technique.

10: Techniques in the air are generally selected by the athlete and coach during training based on the skills and experience of an individual athlete.

11: Upon landing, the jumper’s primary goal is to not fall back into the landing pit. As you all know, the jump is measured from the point of contact of the body with the sand closest to the take-off point.

12: For this reason, many jumpers will work on keeping their feet in front of their body at maximum hip distance. Then use your arms in a sweeping motion to help keep your legs up and your body forward.

13: Upon making contact with the ground, the jumper will forcefully push their legs into the sand and turn their body sideways, this slows down the vertical (downward) momentum of the bottom and also turns it toward the athlete’s side trying to make sure that the heels are the part of the body furthest back.

14: The hook kick is an important technique for young jumpers who are quick to master because it gives them more balance in flight than suspension or stride techniques.