Before Beamon's leap, the farthest long jump had been 27 feet, 4¾ inches, by Ter-Ovanesyan and Ralph Boston. Jesse Owens had set a record of 26-8¼ in 1935 that had held up for 25 years.

Tokyo, Sept. 30, 1964: Ralph Boston, holder of the world long jump record at 27 feet, 4¼ inches. Boston was one of the 159 U.S. athletes and officials first to arrive Sept. 30, 1964, in Tokyo for ...

Russia’s Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, 26: the broad jump at the Golden Gate Invitational track meet, beating the U.S.’s Ralph Boston in the rubber match of their winter duel; at San Francisco.