By:Andrew Lawrence Lot number 11 in Christie’s “Exceptional Sale” earlier this year lived up to its billing. Th is was the holy grail for the well-heeled sports fan or history buff – Olympic glory in the palm of your hand. In an auction that included a Louis XIV tapestry and what was believed to be the only painting by all four of the Beatles, the long-jump gold medal from the 1968 Summer Olympics fetched £351,000. What made its owner give it up? “I had just gotten past the idea of storing it in a bank vault,” says Bob Beamon. “I also thought, with the flags all over the world about to go up for the Paris Games, it was time to cash in on my reputation and inspire the public again.” As rare collectibles go, Beamon’s gold still dazzles. Th e clear favourite in 1968, Beamon’s 8.9-metre jump obliterated the world record. Welshman Lynn Davies, the de-fending Olympic champion, who finished eight spots behind Beamon on that extraordinary day at Estadio Olímpico Universitario told Beamon afterwards: “You have destroyed this event.” Th e American weekly magazine Sports Illustrated pronounced Beamon’s jump one of the five greatest sports moments of the 20th century, above Bannister’s four-minute mile. “They never really showed videos of his jump until years later,” says John Carlos, the 200m bronze medalist in 1968. “What they showed was a still picture of him up in the air.” It was dubbed “the leap of the century” and inspired a new superlative: Beamonesque. “I got a call from Webster’s saying, ‘We put your name in the dictionary, and it means outstanding, unbelievable,’” Beamon recalls. “I never even had a library card. To be an athlete and have your name in the dictionary describing the things you’ve done: it’s just as great as winning a gold medal.” His golden leap endured in the record books for nearly 23 years, until the American Mike Powell beat it by 5cm at the 1991 world championships. Beamon’s long jump is still the longest ever at the Olympics. Just as improbably, Beamon captured the American […]
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