Jonathan David Edwards (born 10 May 1966) is an English formertriple jumper. He is anOlympic, doubleWorld,European, European indoor andCommonwealth champion, and has held theworld record in the event since 1995. Edwards is regarded as one of the greatest triple-jumpers in history.
Following his retirement as anathlete, Edwards has worked as a sports (primarily athletics) commentator and presenter forBBC television, before moving toEurosport. In 2011, he was elected President of theWenlock Olympian Society. He was a member of theLondon Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the 2012 games.
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Edwards was born inWestminster,London and attendedWest Buckland School[4] inDevon where his potential for the triple jump was spotted at an early age. He was a strong all-rounder, and on leaving received the school's top award for sporting and academic excellence, the Fortescue Medal.
Contemporaries with Edwards at West Buckland School includedVictor Ubogu andSteve Ojomoh, both former Bath and England Rugby international players. Edwards now has a Sports Hall at West Buckland named after him,The Jonathan Edwards Sports Centre. Edwards then studied Physics atDurham University, attendingVan Mildert College.
Due to his strong Christian beliefs during his athletic career, discussed in more detailbelow, he initially refused to compete on Sundays,[5] but eventually decided to do so in 1993. This decision proved timely, since the qualifying round at that year'sWorld Championships took place on a Sunday. He went on to win thebronze medal.[6]
In his breakthrough year of 1995, Edwards produced a jump of 18.43 m (60 feet5+1⁄2 inches) at theEuropean Cup. The leap was wind assisted and did not count for record purposes, but it was a sign of things to come as he capped an unbeaten year with a historicgold medal performance at theWorld Championships, in which he broke the world record twice in the same meeting. On his first jump, he became the first man to legally pass the 18-metre barrier with a jump of 18.16 m (59 feet 7 inches). That record lasted for about 20 minutes. His second jump of 18.29 m made him the first to jump 60 feet. During his commentary for the2008 Summer Olympics, Edwards observed that during the 1995 World Championships, he felt as if "he could jump as far as he needed to". Later that same year, Edwards became theBBC Sports Personality of the Year.[7]
During 1996 Edwards went into the1996 Summer Olympics as favourite and world record holder, but it was AmericanKenny Harrison who took the gold with a jump of 18.09 m. Edwards walked away with thesilver after a leap of 17.88 m (the longest ever jump not to win gold). Edwards won the gold medal at the2000 Summer Olympics,[8] and was appointed aCBE shortly thereafter. He also won golds at the2001 World Championships and2002 Commonwealth Games. At one point in 2002, Edwards held all the gold medals for the "four majors" (Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships). He retired after the2003 World Championships.[9]
Following his retirement, Edwards has pursued a media career as atelevision presenter mainly working for theBBC as a sports commentator and presenter, and on programmes such asSongs of Praise until he gave up this programme, due to his loss of faith, in February 2007.[10]
Edwards regularly presented BBC coverage of athletics. When he is not presenting coverage, Edwards often provided expert analysis on field events as part of the BBC commentary team. For theLondon 2012 Olympics, Edwards anchored the BBC's coverage of the athletics events.[11]
After retiring from competition, Edwards became a keen recreational cyclist[12] and has presented the BBC's coverage of cycle racing since 2012. He also covered the2014 Winter Olympics for the BBC and the2014 Winter Paralympics forChannel 4.[3]
Edwards also served as a presenter for the Olympic Announcement ceremonies during the IOC sessions inGuatemala in 2007 andCopenhagen in 2009.
In 2004, Edwards joined withPaula Radcliffe on anOlympic SpecialWho Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The pair raised £64,000 for charity with half of that sum going to theBritish Olympic Association and a quarter of the sum going to Asthma UK.[13]
In 2011, Edwards became President of Wenlock Olympian Society, organisers of the annualWenlock Olympian Games held inShropshire.[14]
He was a member of theLondon Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, representing athletes in the organisation of the2012 Summer Olympics.[15]
In February 2016, after 13 years with the BBC, Edwards announced that he had agreed to joinEurosport on an exclusive contract as the channel's lead presenter from 2017, although he would continue working for the BBC and Channel 4 on their coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics alongside duties with Eurosport until the end of 2016, with his first anchoring role for the pay TV channel being the2016 European Aquatics Championships in May in London.[16] For the BBC's Olympic coverage inRio, Edwards was a lead presenter onBBC Radio 5 Live and presented the television coverage of triathlon events.[17][18]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Great Britain and England | |||||
| 1987 | Universiade | Zagreb, Yugoslavia | 9th | Triple jump | 15.96 m |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 23rd (q) | Triple jump | 15.88 m |
| 1989 | World Cup | Barcelona, Spain | 3rd | Triple jump | 17.28 m |
| 1990 | Commonwealth Games | Auckland, New Zealand | 2nd | Triple jump | 16.93 m (w) |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 35th (q) | Triple jump | 15.76 m |
| World Cup | Havana, Cuba | 1st | Triple jump | 17.34 m | |
| 1993 | World Indoor Championships | Toronto, Canada | 6th | Triple jump | 16.76 m |
| World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | Triple jump | 17.44 m | |
| 1994 | Goodwill Games | Saint Petersburg, Russia | 7th | Triple jump | 16.57 m |
| European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 6th | Triple jump | 16.85 m | |
| Commonwealth Games | Victoria, Canada | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.00 m | |
| 1995 | World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 1st | Triple jump | 18.29 m |
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.88 m |
| 1997 | World Championships | Athens, Greece | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.69 m |
| 1998 | European Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 1st | Triple jump | 17.43 m |
| Goodwill Games | Uniondale, United States | 1st | Triple jump | 17.65 m | |
| European Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | Triple jump | 17.99 m | |
| 1999 | World Championships | Seville, Spain | 3rd | Triple jump | 17.48 m |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 1st | Triple jump | 17.71 m |
| 2001 | World Indoor Championships | Lisbon, Portugal | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.26 m |
| World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 1st | Triple jump | 17.92 m | |
| Goodwill Games | Brisbane, Australia | 1st | Triple jump | 17.26 m | |
| 2002 | Commonwealth Games | Manchester, United Kingdom | 1st | Triple jump | 17.86 m |
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 3rd | Triple jump | 17.32 m | |
| World Cup | Madrid, Spain | 1st | Triple jump | 17.34 m | |
| 2003 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 4th | Triple jump | 17.19 m |
| World Championships | Paris, France | 12th | Triple jump | 16.31 m | |
Edwards received an honorary doctorate fromHeriot-Watt University in 2002.[20]
An honorary doctorate was conferred upon him at a ceremony at theUniversity of Exeter on 21 January 2006.[21]
Later in the same year, an honorary doctorate of the university (DUniv) was conferred upon him at the winter graduation ceremony of theUniversity of Ulster (19 December 2006).[22]
Edwards lives with his wife inNewcastle upon Tyne. They have two sons.[23]
Edwards was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe Guardian opposingScottish independence in the run-up to the2014 referendum on that issue.[24]
Edwards initially refused to compete on Sundays due to his devoutChristian beliefs, a decision that cost him a chance to compete in the 1991World Championships. However, in 1993, after much deliberation and discussion with his father (avicar), he changed his mind, deciding that God gave him his talent in order for him to compete inathletics. He once said "My relationship with Jesus and God is fundamental to everything I do. I have made a commitment and dedication in that relationship to serve God in every area of my life."[10]
He presented episodes of the Christian television showSongs of Praise until 2007. In June 2007, in an interview inThe Times, Edwards said: "When you think about it rationally, it does seem incredibly improbable that there is a God." In the same interview, he stated: "Looking back now, I can see that my faith was not only pivotal to my decision to take up sport but also my success ... I was always dismissive of sports psychology when I was competing, but I now realise that my belief in God was sports psychology in all but name." He has since described himself as "probably agnostic, but practically an atheist", and has expressed contentment with his current worldview, stating "I feel internally happier than at any time of my life."[25]
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's Triple Jump World Record Holder 8 July 1995 – present | Incumbent |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by | BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Men's European Athlete of the Year 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Men's European Athlete of the Year 1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | L'Équipe's International Champion of Champions 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United Press International Athlete of the Year 1995 | Succeeded by none |
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European Athletics Championships champions in men'striple jump | |
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Commonwealth Games champions in men'striple jump | |
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| International | |
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| People | |
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