Ralf Jaros (born 13 December 1965, in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

) is a former

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 th ...

er. With a height of 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in), he had a competition weight of 85 kg (187 lb). On 30 June 1991, in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

, Ralf Jaros set a German triple jump record of 17.66 meters (57 ft 11 in) while defeating the nearest competitor by nearly 72 cm (28 in). This remains the current national record in the event. At the age of 18, Ralf Jaros made his international debut in the 1984 Olympic Games. He finished in the seventeenth position in the qualification round. In the 1985 season, he finished fourth in the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet courts. Finals Singles Doubles See also * Berlin Open ...

with a distance of 16.78 meters (55 ft 1 in), and sixth in the

World Indoor Games The World Indoor Games were arranged by the IAAF and held at the Palais Omnisports Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from January 18 to January 19, 1985. In 1987 the championship was renamed to the IAAF World Indoor Championships The World Athlet ...

with a distance of 16.61 meters (54 ft 6 in). Knee injuries prevented Jaros from taking part in international competition for some years following these events. He finished ninth in the 1991 World Championships. In the 1992 Olympic Games, he narrowly failed to qualify for the final round, ranking thirteenth in qualification. He finished fourth in the 1993 World Championships with a distance of 17.34 meters (56 ft 11 in). Jaros was German outdoor champion in the triple jump in 1984 and 1985 as well as 1990 to 1993. He was German indoor champion in the event in 1984, 1985 and 1994. He represented the clubs DJK Agon Düsseldorf and

TV Wattenscheid TV Wattenscheid 01 Leichtathletik is a German sports club focused on athletics. Founded in 1971 in Wattenscheid, Bochum in the Western part of Germany, the club's history is linked to that of an older club, ''Turnverein Wattenscheid 01'', a gymnas ...

International competitions

References

* 1965 births Living people Athletes from Düsseldorf German male triple jumpers West German male triple jumpers Olympic athletes for West Germany Olympic athletes for Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Germany DJK Agon 08 Düsseldorf athletes TV Wattenscheid athletes West German Athletics Championships winners {{Germany-triplejump-bio-stub