Willie Banks

Willie Banks ( born March 11, 1956, the Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California ) is a retired American triple jumper.

Banks, who took the triple jump on the sports hurdles, high jump and long jump in 1976 reached a third place finish at the U.S. Championships with a distance of 16.77 meters. Two years later he was with a crackled width of 17.05 meters, the fifth-best Springer world. In 1979 he was World Champion students in Mexico City. To win led him doing a jump over 17.20 meters. Three years later, he improved the U.S. record at 17.26 meters. In 1982, he won the U.S. vice-championship. For this purpose, it ranged 17.10 meters.

His career highlight he experienced on June 16, 1985 in Sacramento, California, when he won the U.S. Championship with the world record distance of 17.97 meters, after which he was elected to the U.S. for the athletes of the year 1985. His world record was surpassed only ten years later by Jonathan Edwards with 17.98 m. To this day, Willie Banks is number four in the list of the best triple jumper of all time.

The major international events his successes were much lower. He never won an international title, although in 1988 he took part twice in 1984 (6th place ) and in the Olympics and twice at the World Championships in 1983 and 1987. Merely at the World Championship 1983 in Helsinki, he won the silver medal with a jump over 17.18 meters. However, in 1985 he won the World Cup for themselves and this year was cracked with 17.97 meters and world record holder.

Banks was extremely popular in the athletics scene. He was regarded as jester the sport 's triple jump popular with athletics meeting made ​​by its extremely communicative behavior towards the audience around the world. After finishing his sports career studying Banks, father of two daughters, law and became a lawyer.

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