Mike Powell (long jumper)

Mike Powell is a great jumper.

He is from the United States. He can jump very far. In 1991, he broke a world record. This record is still the best in the world. He won many silver medals at the Olympics. He also won two big world titles. He even tried to dunk a ball in basketball. Mike worked very hard at his sport. He is a famous athlete.

Mike Powell is a famous track and field athlete.

He is from the United States. He is a master of the long jump. This is a sport where people run and jump far.

In 1991, Mike did something amazing. He jumped 8.95 meters in Tokyo, Japan. This broke a world record. That record was almost 23 years old. His jump is still the world record today.

Mike won many prizes for his skill. He won two gold medals at the World Championships. He also won two silver medals at the Olympics. He won silver in Seoul in 1988. He won silver again in Barcelona in 1992.

Mike also tried a different sport. He tried to dunk a basketball from the free throw line. He did not succeed that time.

Later, Mike became a coach. He coached long jump at a college in California. In 2025, he was suspended from sports activities. This was due to a safeguarding concern. This means he cannot take part in official events for now.

Mike Powell is a famous track and field athlete from the United States. He is best known for his skill in the long jump. This sport requires an athlete to run fast and leap as far as possible. Powell achieved greatness in this event for many years. He won two gold medals at the World Championships. He also earned two silver medals at the Olympic Games.

His most famous moment happened in Tokyo, Japan. On August 30, 1991, he competed in the World Championships in Athletics. During this event, he jumped 8.95 meters. This incredible leap broke a world record held by Bob Beamon. That previous record had lasted for almost 23 years. Powell's jump is still the world record today. It is one of the longest-standing records in sports history.

Powell grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Later, he moved to California to attend Edgewood High School. In 1981, he showed his talent in the high jump. He went on to study at the University of California, Irvine. He later transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Throughout his career, Powell traveled to many different places to compete. He won a title at the British AAA Championships in 1987. He won silver medals in Seoul, South Korea, and Barcelona, Spain. In 1992, he set a record for the longest wind-assisted jump in Sestriere, Italy. He also won a gold medal in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1993. For his great success, he won the James E. Sullivan Award in 1991.

Powell has tried many different things outside of jumping. He once tried to dunk a basketball from the free throw line. He competed in the 1992–93 Foot Locker Slam Fest for this goal. He also worked as an analyst for Yahoo! Sports. Later, he coached long jump at Azusa Pacific University in California. In 2025, he was suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit. This was due to a safeguarding concern.

Michael Anthony Powell is a former track and field athlete from the United States. He is most famous for his extraordinary skill in the long jump. In this sport, athletes must run with great speed and leap as far as possible. Powell is the current holder of the long jump world record. This achievement makes him one of the most significant figures in the history of athletics.

Powell's most historic moment occurred on August 30, 1991. He was competing in the World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo, Japan. During this competition, he leaped a distance of 8.95 meters. This massive jump broke the previous world record held by Bob Beamon. Beamon's record had stood for almost 23 years before Powell broke it. Today, Powell's 8.95-meter jump remains the longest-standing world record in the long jump.

Throughout his professional career, Powell earned many major titles and medals. He was a two-time world champion in the long jump. He also won two Olympic silver medals. His first silver medal came at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. He earned his second silver medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He won his first world championship title in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1993. He also took third place at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Powell's athletic journey began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He later moved to California to attend Edgewood High School in West Covina. In 1981, he demonstrated his jumping ability at the CIF California State Meet. At that event, he cleared a specific height in the high jump. He continued his education at the University of California, Irvine. Eventually, he transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

In addition to his standard jumps, Powell set other notable marks. In 1992, he competed in Sestriere, Italy. At high altitude, he set a record for the longest wind-assisted jump. This jump was recorded with a wind speed of +4.4 m/s. His incredible success in 1991 earned him two major honors. He received the James E. Sullivan Award and the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year Award.

Powell also explored different athletic challenges outside of the long jump. During the 1992–93 Foot Locker Slam Fest, he attempted to dunk a basketball from the free throw line. While he failed this attempt, another athlete named Mike Conley succeeded and won the competition. After his primary competitive career ended, Powell worked as an analyst for Yahoo! Sports. He covered Olympic Track & Field for the platform. Later, he served as a long jump coach at Azusa Pacific University in California during the 2023 season.

Later years saw Powell attempting to return to the sport. In 2001, he hoped to compete in the 2004 Olympics, but he did not make the American team. In 2009, he announced plans to break the Masters over-45 world record. He planned to compete again at the Simplot Games in Pocatello, Idaho, in 2015. However, during the 2015 Athletics New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Wellington, he sustained an injury during warm-ups. This injury prevented him from competing in that event.

Family connections to athletics also exist within his life. His daughter, Micha Powell, was named as an alternate for Canada's Olympic team in 2016. This was for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His daughter's mother, Rosey Edeh, also competed at a high level. She ran in the 400 meters hurdles final at the 1996 Olympics. In 2025, Powell faced a significant change in his professional standing. The Athletics Integrity Unit suspended him indefinitely due to a safeguarding concern. As a result, he is barred from all activities sanctioned by World Athletics.