Edwards has the world at his feet

It all came gloriously - one might say divinely - right for Jonathan Edwards here yesterday.

The man who missed the 1991 World Championships because competing on a Sunday did not conform with his religious beliefs not only took world triple jump title, he broke his own world record with successive jumps, leaving it at 18.29 metres.

No one has done that in world athletics since 1975, when Karl-Hans Rihm of West Germany managed consecutive world bests in the hammer.

Edwards had come into this competition with a legal best of 17.98 metres, tantalisingly below the 18 metres mark which has stood in the event like the four-minute barrier once stood in the mile. Four times this season he had cleared the distance, but on each occasion he had been denied a record because the following wind was blowing at more than the legal level of two metres per second.

However, on a relatively windy day in Gothenburg following a spell of still, hot weather, the elements were on his side. And after his first jump had disturbed the sand beyond the 18 metres mark, he leapt out of the pit with excitement. The wind reading was 1.3mps. Surely he had done it at last. But the waiting seemed interminable, and he sucked in his cheeks and then bit on his knuckle as he stood beside the take-off board.

The crowd of 35,000 saw the result first, announcing it with a huge roar. Edwards was bewildered for a moment, not knowing where to get confirmation, but then he had his head in his hands: 18.16 metres.

Earlier in the week, Edwards had spoken of the pressure that his performances this season had generated. "Sometimes I feel like I'm going to jump 19 metres," he said. "Sometimes I feel I'm going to jump 10 centimetres. Sometimes I just wish I was back at home. There has been tension and expectation for me here like I've never experienced before."

Yesterday, the weight lifted off him in one celebratory moment. His second jump was a matter of pure joy. As he stood up, he simply smiled widely with the enjoyment of the moment, basking in the afternoon sunshine and the tumultuous applause. When the mark came through, he sank briefly to his knees: 18.29 metres. A quarter of an inch beyond the 60ft barrier.

"After jumping 18 metres twice in Lille, I knew I could break the world record, but I could hardly dare to think about doing it here. Even when I did 18 metres on my first jump, I didn't believe that it was over."

This performance climaxed a season of sudden and staggering success for the 29-year-old Gateshead Harrier, who only took up athletics full-time three years ago after leaving his job as a cyto-physicist at the Royal Victoria Infirmary near his home in Newcastle.

His improvement this season has been all the more remarkable given that he suffered from the debilitating Epstein-Barr virus last year - exacerbated by the need to continue competing to support a wife and two young sons - and came into 1995 simply seeking to re- establish himself. He has done that - and rather a lot more - thanks to a jumping technique that has been overhauled and altered in consultation with his technical coach, Peter Stanley.

Using video recordings of the Olympic champion Mike Conley, he has finally discovered a way to convert his tremendous natural speed - he has covered 60 metres in 6.77sec - into distance. In his run-up he has employed a double-arm shift, exaggerating the forward and backward swing of the arms as he launches into his take off. His step and jump have been improved by maintaining a lower trajectory and, in his own phrase, "using the arms actively rather than in reaction to what the legs are doing".

Before Edwards's third jump, the noise rose to a crescendo, then gave way to a general groan of dismay as he cut the sand short of the 18 metres mark. He got up with almost a sheepish grin on his face.

Edwards had jumped 17.49, a world-class distance, one which he had never bettered legally in his entire career until this season. The expectations which he must now carry are huge indeed. His nearest challenger on the day was Brian Wellman, Bermuda's indoor world champion, who eventually took the silver with 17.62 metres. As Wellman took his last jump Edwards stood shielding his eyes to the sun to watch his performance on the big screen. There was a roar as Wellman broke the sand around the 18 metres mark, but then the screen showed Wellman's foot well over the mark. The Bermudan went briefly bonkers - as is his wont - and then, smiling ruefully, came over to Edwards and raised his hand to the crowd.

Only Edwards could apologise for his world records - he did so twice to Wellman, who jumped immediately after him, for breaking his concentration. "I told him after the first world record, don't do that again because I need to get a jump in," Wellman said with a smile.

After Wellman's last effort, the Briton was in the clear to pick up a Union Jack and wave to the crowd. Momentarily, his achievement seemed to catch in his throat, and he seemed close to tears. He has found it difficult to connect his prodigious performances this season with himself. "In my mind there is still a distance between what I read about and who I am," he said. Perhaps he has made the connection now, and realised the truth of it: he is one of the all-time greats.

Dan O'Brien, the United States' decathlon world record holder, retained his title with a score of 8,695 points. His team-mate, Gwen Torrence, confirmed her domination of the short sprints by taking the 100m title in 10.86sec ahead of Merlene Ottey who, at 36, appears to have missed her chance of a major 100m title.

Earlier in the afternoon, Roger Black and Mark Richardson qualified for today's 400m final, taking fourth place in their respective semi-finals behind the two winners, Michael Johnson and Greg Haughton. Kelly Holmes also went through safely to tomorrow's 1500 metres final, where she has realistic hopes of adding a gold to that of Edwards.

May jumps for joy, page 19

Results, page 21

EVOLUTION OF MEN'S

TRIPLE JUMP WORLD RECORD

distance date

17.03m J Schmidt (Pol) 5.8.60

17.10 G Gentile (It) 16.10.68

17.22 Gentile 17.10.68

17.23 V Saneyev (USSR) 17.10.68

17.27 N Prudencio (Bra) 17.10.68

17.39 Saneyev 17.10.68

17.40 P Perez (Cuba) 5.8.71

17.44 Saneyev 17.10.72

17.89 J C de Oliveira (Bra) 15.10.75

17.97 W Banks (US) 16.6.85

17.98 J Edwards (GB) 18.7.95

18.16 Edwards 7.8.95

18.29 Edwards 7.8.95