Jonathan David Edwards, (born 10 May 1966) is a British former

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down t ...

er. He is an Olympic,

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, European and

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champion, and has held the world record in the event since 1995. Following his retirement as an

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-dev ...

, Edwards has worked as a sports (primarily athletics) commentator and presenter for BBC television. Formerly a devout Christian, he also presented episodes of the BBC Christian worship programme '' Songs of Praise'', until he renounced his faith in 2007. In 2011 he was elected President of the

Wenlock Olympian Society The Wenlock Olympian Games, dating from 1850, are a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games. They are organised by the Wenlock Olympian Society (WOS), and are held each year at venues across Shropshire, England, centred on the little market town o ...

following the death of its then President, Roy Rogers. He was a member of the

London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) was the organisation responsible for overseeing the planning and development of the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was jointly established by the UK Gove ...

for the 2012 games.

Education

Edwards was born in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and attended

West Buckland School West Buckland School is an independent school in West Buckland, Devon in the English public school tradition. It comprises a senior school, preparatory school, and a nursery. It is a relatively high performing school in Devon. It was one o ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

where his potential for the triple jump was spotted at an early age. He was a strong all-rounder, and on leaving received the school's top award for sporting and academic excellence, the Fortescue Medal. Contemporaries with Edwards at West Buckland School included Victor Ubogu and

Steve Ojomoh Stephen Oziegebe Ojomoh, known as Steve Ojomoh (born 25 May 1970 in Benin City), is a Nigerian-born English former rugby union footballer and a current coach. He played as a flanker. Club career Ojomoh played for Moseley, Bath, and Glouceste ...

, both former Bath and England Rugby international players. Edwards now has a Sports Hall at West Buckland named after him, ''The Jonathan Edwards Sports Centre''. Edwards then studied Physics at Durham University, attending Van Mildert College.

Athletics career

Due to his strong Christian beliefs during his athletic career, discussed in more detail

below Below may refer to: *Earth * Ground (disambiguation) * Soil * Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) * Less than *Temperatures below freezing * Hell or underworld People with the surname * Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general * Fr ...

, he initially refused to compete on Sundays, but eventually decided to do so in 1993. This decision proved timely, since the qualifying round at that year's

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

took place on a Sunday. He went on to win the bronze medal. In his breakthrough year of 1995, Edwards produced a jump of 18.43 m (60 feet inches) at the European Cup. The leap was wind assisted and did not count for record purposes, but it was a sign of things to come as he capped an unbeaten year with a historic gold medal performance at the

, in which he broke the world record twice in the same meeting. On his first jump, he became the first man to legally pass the 18-metre barrier with a jump of 18.16 m (59 feet 7 inches). That record lasted for about 20 minutes. His second jump of 18.29 m made him the first to jump 60 feet. During his commentary for the 2008 Summer Olympics, Edwards observed that during the 1995 World Championships, he felt as if "he could jump as far as he needed to". Later that same year, Edwards became the

BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just one, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Several new awards have been ...

. During 1996 Edwards went into the 1996 Summer Olympics as favourite and world record holder, but it was American

Kenny Harrison Kenny Harrison (born Kerry Harrison, February 13, 1965 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States) is a former track and field athlete competing in triple jump. Athletic career High school Harrison went to Brookfield Central for high school, wh ...

who took the gold with a jump of 18.09 m. Edwards walked away with the

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

after a leap of 17.88 m (the longest ever jump not to win gold). Edwards won the gold medal at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, and was appointed a CBE shortly thereafter. He also won golds at the 2001 World Championships and 2002 Commonwealth Games. At one point in 2002, Edwards held all the gold medals for the "four majors" (Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships). He retired after the 2003 World Championships.

Post-athletics career

Following his retirement, Edwards has pursued a media career as a

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

mainly working for the BBC as a sports commentator and presenter, and on programmes such as '' Songs of Praise'' until he gave up this programme, due to his loss of faith, in February 2007. Edwards regularly presents BBC coverage of athletics. When he is not presenting coverage, Edwards often provides expert analysis on field events as part of the BBC commentary team. Edwards also received an Honorary Doctorate from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted uni ...

in 2002. After retiring from competition, Edwards became a keen recreational cyclist and has presented the BBC's coverage of cycle racing since 2012. He also covered the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games (russian: XXII Олимпийские зимние игры, XXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (russian: Сочи 2014), was an international ...

for the BBC and the

2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (russian: Зимние Паралимпийские игры 2014, Zimniye Paralimpiyskiye igry 2014), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were a ...

for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. Edwards also served as a presenter for the Olympic Announcement ceremonies during the IOC sessions in Guatemala in 2007 and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 2009. In 2004, Edwards joined with Paula Radcliffe on an ''Olympic Special

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...

''. The pair raised £64,000 for charity with half of that sum going to the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...

and a quarter of the sum going to Asthma UK. In 2011, Edwards became President of Wenlock Olympian Society, organisers of the annual Wenlock Olympian Games held in Shropshire. He was a member of the

, representing athletes in the organisation of the 2012 Summer Olympics. In February 2016, after 13 years with the BBC, Edwards announced that he had agreed to join

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

on an exclusive contract as the channel's lead presenter from 2017, although he would continue working for the BBC and Channel 4 on their coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics alongside duties with Eurosport until the end of 2016, with his first anchoring role for the pay TV channel being the 2016 European Aquatics Championships in May in London.

Personal bests

*Triple Jump – 18.29 m (WR), 18.43 m ( +2.4 m) (not ratified due to excessive wind conditions) *100 m – 10.48 s *Long jump – 7.41 m

Awards

An honorary doctorate was conferred upon him at a ceremony at the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

on 21 January 2006. Later in the same year, an honorary doctorate of the university (DUniv) was conferred upon him at the winter graduation ceremony of the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

(19 December 2006). Edwards also received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2002.

Personal life

Edwards lives with his wife Alison in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

. They have two sons, Nathan and Sam. Edwards was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to the 2014 referendum on that issue.

Religious beliefs

Edwards initially refused to compete on Sundays due to his devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

beliefs, a decision that cost him a chance to compete in the 1991

. However, in 1993, after much deliberation and discussion with his father (a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

), he changed his mind, deciding that God gave him his talent in order for him to compete in athletics. He once said "My relationship with Jesus and God is fundamental to everything I do. I have made a commitment and dedication in that relationship to serve God in every area of my life." He presented episodes of the Christian television show '' Songs of Praise'' until 2007. However, in June 2007, in an interview in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'', Edwards said: Furthermore, in the same interview with ''The Times'' he also stated "When you think about it rationally, it does seem incredibly improbable that there is a God." In the same interview he also said "I feel internally happier than at any time of my life.""'I have never been happier' says the man who won gold but lost God"
''The Times'', 27 June 2007. In an interview for a film by Matthew Syed broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

at around 18:30 on the evening of 12 August 2012, after the last medal of the London 2012 Summer Olympics was awarded, Jonathan Edwards stated "It may seem odd to quote from the Bible since I have lost my faith, but...". An interview reported by Jane Oddy in Mirror News (27 February 2014) quoted him saying "I am happy and actually it's fine. I don't miss my faith. In many ways I feel more settled and happier in myself without it. I don't know if that is related to losing my faith or would have been the case anyway, but it's a non-issue as far as I am concerned. Seven years on I don't feel a gap in my life and I suppose that's the proof of the pudding isn't it? Had I suddenly thought that life doesn't quite feel right, maybe I'd re-examine that – re-examine my faith. In fact, more than ever, I feel comfortable with where I am in life."

References

External links

* * * * * * http://www.mtc-uk.com/talent/jonathan-edwards/ * http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/athletics/sydney-medallist-emabrrassed-by-god-fervour/story-e6frfgkx-1225815303222
Jonathan Edwards, Interview on London's 2012 Olympic Games
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Jonathan 1966 births Living people People from Gosforth Sportspeople from Tyne and Wear Athletes from London People from Westminster English sports broadcasters English television presenters English male non-fiction writers British male triple jumpers English male triple jumpers Olympic male triple jumpers Olympic athletes of Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics English Olympic medallists Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships winners World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games AAA Championships winners World Athletics record holders World record holders in masters athletics European Athlete of the Year winners BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Former Christians English agnostics English atheists People educated at West Buckland School Alumni of Van Mildert College, Durham Commonwealth Games competitors for England Goodwill Games gold medalists in athletics