Lynn Davies

Lynn Davies ( born May 20, 1942 in Nantymoel, Wales ) is a former Welsh athlete and Olympic gold medalist who - starting for the UK - in the 1960s was one of the world's best long jumpers.

Sporting career

After the American Ralph Boston in 1960 had surpassed the 25 -year-old world record of Jesse Owens, improved Boston and multiple European champion Igor Ter - Owanesjan (Soviet Union) to 1964, the world record five times. Thus, the two big favorites were for the long jump at the 1964 Olympic Games firmly. On the day of the competition, the October 18, 1964 it rained in Tokyo, and the two favorites were not able to prove their performance. And so the 22 -year-old Lynn Davies won with a British record of 8.07 meters as a complete surprise gold against Boston (Silver) and Ter - Owanesjan (bronze).

In the following years, Lynn Davies proved that his success was no accident, even though he did not reach the final battle at the Olympic Games. Lynn Davies provided a total of eight British records, his best jump succeeded in 1968 in Bern with 8,23 m.

Even as a runner in the 4 x 100 - meter relay team he reached the finals placements. In 1964 he finished in eighth place at the Games in Tokyo and at the European Championships in 1966, he came with the relay in fifth place.

Achievements at a glance

Olympic games

European Championships

European Indoor Championships

Commonwealth Games

After the career

After he had finished his career in 1972, he was for four years for Canada's coaching staff, who prepared the athletes for the domestic game in Montreal in 1976. Later, Lynn Davies worked for the British Athletics Federation and the BBC. On June 17, 2006 Lynn Davies was appointed Commander of the British Empire ( CBE).