Michael Anthony Powell (born November 10, 1963) is an American former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete, and the holder of the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

. He is a two-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist in this event. His world record of has stood since 1991.

Biography

Background

Powell was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He attended Edgewood High School in

West Covina, California West Covina is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, located east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley and is part of Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 106,098 at the 2010 census. West Covi ...

, where he finished second in the high jump at the CIF California State Meet in 1981. He went on to attend the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

, and later transferred to the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Athletics career

Powell won the long jump silver medal at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in Seoul. At the

1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries participa ...

(

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

), on August 30, 1991, Powell broke

Bob Beamon Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping 8.90 m (29 ft. 2.5 in), he broke the existing record by ...

's almost 23-year-old long jump world record by 5 cm (2 inches), leaping . The world record still stands, making it the longest-standing long jump world record since records have been kept. His feat earned him the

James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...

and

BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year The BBC World Sport Star of the Year (formerly known as the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year) is an award presented at the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year award ceremony. The award is presented to a non-British sportsperson c ...

Award in 1991. He also holds the longest wind-assisted jump at (+4.4 m/s) that he set at high altitude in 1992 in

Sestriere Sestriere (/se'strjɛre/) ( oc, Sestrieras, pms, Ël Sestrier, french: Sestrières) is a ski resort in Piedmont, Italy, a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, from the French border. Its name ...

, Italy. Powell again won the long jump silver medal at

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona. In addition to his famous 1991 victory, he won the long jump again at the

1993 World Championships in Athletics The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Neckarstadium, Stuttgart, Germany between 13 and 22 August with the participation of 187 nations. Having ori ...

, and came third at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. Powell competed in the 1992–93 Foot Locker Slam Fest and successfully dunked from the free throw line. After coming fifth in the long jump at the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, Powell retired. He returned in 2001 with a goal of competing in the 2004 Olympics, but did not make the American team.

After retirement

Powell became an analyst for Yahoo! Sports Olympic Track & Field coverage. He stated in July 2009 that he intended to return to competition with the aim of breaking Tapani Taavitsainen's Masters over-45 world record in the long jump. Powell now coaches long jump at the Academy of Speed in Rancho Cucamonga, California. At the Simplot Games on February 20, 2015 in an official announcement Powell stated that, at the age of 51, he would jump again in competition. On March 7, 2015 Powell entered the Athletics New Zealand Track and Field Championships, with every jump considered an attempt at the World Masters record. However, Powell sustained an injury in warm up and didn't actually compete. He later stated he will jump again in the future and now he has registered for the WMA in Tampere in July 2022. In July 2016 his daughter Micha Powell was officially named to Canada's Olympic team.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Mike 1963 births Living people American male long jumpers James E. Sullivan Award recipients World Athletics record holders 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 Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of California, Irvine alumni UC Irvine Anteaters athletes World Athletics Championships medalists Track and field athletes from California Track and field athletes from Philadelphia Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners Universiade gold medalists for the United States World Athletics Championships winners Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games