00:00Nobody had ever attempted a front flip in an official long jump competition, but this crazy Kiwi had discovered something
00:07that the professionals had overlooked.
00:09Tariki John Delamere was one of the best long jumpers in New Zealand.
00:13However, after accepting a scholarship at Washington State and arriving in the U.S., John fell a little bit out
00:18of his depth with the American professionals.
00:20They were all outperforming him, the 1974 LA Pacific Championships were coming up, and after finishing 9th in the Commonwealth
00:27Games in his own home country earlier that year, John felt like he'd let himself and his country down.
00:33John desperately needed to find another way to be competitive.
00:36It had been long rumoured that a front flip could possibly be the most optimal long jump technique from a
00:41biomechanics perspective, but had never been attempted in a competition.
00:45So John decided he was going to be the first to try it at the Pacific Championships in the LA
00:50Coliseum, and in doing so, he'd change the sport of long jump forever.
00:54The idea of a front flip in long jump had been talked about for years.
00:58Experts believed it could help jumpers go further by using the body's natural rotation to boost momentum.
01:04The flip would turn the jumper's upward motion into forward motion, potentially adding crucial inches to the jump.
01:10While the concept was exciting, no one had dared to try it in competition, due to the high risk of
01:15injury.
01:16With guidance from his biomechanics professor at Washington State, John saw this as his chance to break new ground and
01:22stand out in the sport.
01:24Whispers had begun to circulate that the Russians were planning to deploy the front flip long jump at the 1976
01:30Montreal Olympics.
01:32John wasn't just pioneering a new technique, he was potentially beating the world to a groundbreaking athletic innovation which would
01:39completely change the sport of long jump in the same way that the Fosbury flop had completely revolutionised the high
01:45jump just six years earlier.
01:47When John realised the potential for this unconventional and risky technique, he took to the pole vault pits to practice
01:53in a way that would hopefully reduce the risk of injuring himself.
01:56He practiced the flip for days, and it seemed at first like he just wasn't going to be able to
02:01do it.
02:01It's a dangerous move for someone untrained in gymnastics, and after landing on his tailbone particularly badly, he thought he'd
02:08irreparably damaged his spine, and he was ready to give up on this insane idea.
02:12However, the championships were coming up fast.
02:14John was running out of time to practice the move, and he wasn't willing to risk hurting himself again before
02:19the competition.
02:20He decided that the next time he would try the jump, he'd do it for real at the Pacific Championships.
02:25When the day finally arrived, only two people in the stadium knew what was about to happen.
02:30John and his coach.
02:32John prepared for his first jump.
02:34He sprinted down the runway, and he launched into the air.
02:36He executed the front flip perfectly, landing feet first, far ahead of all the previous jumpers.
02:42The officials stood there, stunned, with their mouths open.
02:45It impressed everyone.
02:46But once the officials processed what just happened, they informed John that he had unfortunately overstepped the mark, and the
02:52jump didn't count.
02:53Despite this, it was clear that the adrenaline was working, and John was onto something extraordinary.
02:58For his second jump, John was even more focused.
03:01The crowd swelled, and they watched with bated breath to see if he would attempt the flip again.
03:06The tension in the stadium was palpable.
03:09As John took off again, he leapt from behind the line, and his body rotated smoothly through the air.
03:14He landed feet first once again, this time with his heels touching down at the 8.4 metre mark.
03:20The longest jump in NCAA history.
03:23But in the final moments of the jump, his hands planted down behind him, causing him to fall back to
03:287.7 metres.
03:31John's jump was still enough to equal the day's winning jump from the reigning Olympic champion, Randy Williams.
03:36It was a bittersweet success, but John had done what he set out to do.
03:40He had successfully proved the enormous potential of the somersault long jump.
03:45John was only given one more opportunity to compete using the technique before the end of the season.
03:50By the time the next season rolled around, the International Association of Athletics Federations had banned the somersault long jump,
03:57deeming it too dangerous.
03:58As a result of the ban, John's jump remains the longest official somersault long jump in history.
04:06.
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