Long jump set to trial radical overhaul with ‘take-off zone’

World Athletics is considering the most radical overhaul of the long jump since it became one of the inaugural events of the first modern Olympics in 1896.

In an attempt to make the sport more appealing, the governing body will trial a “take-off zone” from which competitors can leap into the pit instead of the usual fixed wooden board.

This would almost eliminate the possibility of a foul and also mean that jumps would always be measured from wherever the competitor has actually taken off, rather than one universal start point. It means the person who lands furthest into the pit would not necessarily be the winner.

It would be certain to raise the overall distances but would hugely reduce the importance of perfecting a run-up and could lead to accusations that the event was being made less skilled. Data from the World Championships in Budapest last year showed that a third of all jumps were fouls, with athletes often overstepping the fixed mark in pursuing a “perfect” take off from at least one of their attempts.

“That doesn’t work – that’s a waste of time,” Jon Ridgeon, the World Athletics chief executive, said of all the “no jumps”. “So we are testing a take-off zone rather than a take-off board. We will measure from where the athlete takes off to where they land in the pit.

“That means every single jump counts. It adds to the jeopardy and drama. At the same time, we are working out ways we can get instant results so you don’t have to wait 20 to 30 seconds. We are trying to tackle the events that perhaps are less popular. How can we make them more popular, more exciting, more engaging?”

The ideas will initially be tested at low-level athletics meetings this year. There is no prospect of change before the Paris Olympics.

The origins of the long jump can be traced all the way back to the Ancient Olympics. It was a documented part of those Greek Games as far back as 708 BC.

World Athletics also wants to modernise other disciplines and it will host a special, made for television global three-night event in 2026. Ridgeon knows that some of the ideas will face resistance. “You cannot make change in a sport that was basically invented 150 years ago without some controversy,” he told the Anything but Footy podcast.

Josh Kerr, meanwhile, has joined his Scottish compatriots Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie in the British team for the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow from March 1. Kerr, the reigning world 1500 metres champion, will race in the 3,000m. Katarina Johnsonthompson, Keely Hodgkinson and Dina Asher-smith are among the British athletes who have chosen to miss the event in order to focus on their Olympic preparations.