| Personal information | |
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| Born | (1956-03-10)March 10, 1956 (age 69) Clinton, Mississippi, U.S. |
Medal record | |
Larry Myricks (born 10 March 1956) is anAmerican formertrack and field athlete, who mainly competed in thelong jump event. He is a two-time winner of theWorld Indoor Championships (1987, 1989) and a two-time winner of theWorld Cup (1979, 1989). He also won a bronze medal at the1988 Seoul Olympics, and bronze medals at theWorld Championships in 1987 and 1991.
Myricks was born inClinton, Mississippi. A durable jumper, he first broke onto the track scene in 1976. While competing forMississippi College, he was theNCAA Champion in the long jump.[1] He followed that with a second place at theU.S. Olympic Trials, beating defending Olympic championRandy Williams in the process. At the1976 Olympics, he broke his foot while warming up for the final and was unable to compete. His teammatesArnie Robinson and Williams finished 1 and 2. The three American jumpers had been easily the top three jumpers in qualifying.
In 1979, he again won the NCAA Championship, this time both indoors and outdoors.[1] He was also theUS National Champion (27–2), andWorld Cup Champion (8.52 m). He repeated as U.S. national champion in 1980 and in 1989. He also won BritishAAA Championships title at the1981 AAA Championships.[2][3]
Myricks competed for the United States at the1988 Summer Olympics held inSeoul,South Korea, where he won thebronze medal in the men's long jump competition. In addition to the 1976 Olympics, he won the 1980 Olympic Trials (over a youngCarl Lewis), but the team did not get to go to the Olympics due to themultinational boycott. As consolation, he received one of 461Congressional Gold Medals created specifically for the athletes.[4] Myricks finished second to Lewis in the 1984 Olympic Trials.[5] He finished fourth in theOlympics that year.
He set his personal best of 8.74 m (28 ft 8 in) in the long jump at the 1988 Olympic Trials. That jump still ranks Myricks as the number 5 long jumper ever.[6] It was the trials record, for a few minutes, until surpassed by Carl Lewis. After qualifying for four straight Olympic teams, Myricks returned in 1992 as a 36-year-old to a fifth Olympic Trials, finishing in seventh place.[5]
Myricks was the third-place jumper at the1991 World Championships when Lewis andMike Powell were fighting over the world record, what many consider the greatest long jump competition ever.
Based on a statistical comparison of 8.16 meters, Myricks had more competitions (170) over that mark than any other competitor. Moving that comparison to 8.50 m, he ranks second (17) to Carl Lewis (39) (as of 1996; since 1996, only 9 jumpers have jumped 8.50[6]).[5] Myricks' last 8.50 in 1991, at the age of 35, is tied with Lewis' mark from the1996 Olympics as theM35 Masters World Record.[7]
He was also a masterful200 msprinter, with a best of 20.03 s at the US National Championships in 1983 behind his nemesis Carl Lewis, who along withMike Powell overshadowed him for most of his career. Myricks ran the 200 at the1983 World Championships in Athletics. He won the U.S. nationals in the 200 meters in 1988.
Myricks is also a graduate ofMississippi College. He was coached there by Joe Walker (now at Ole Miss).
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing United States | |||||
| 1976 | Olympic Games | Montreal, Canada | 3rd (q) | Long jump | 7.92 m (q)1 |
| 1979 | World Cup | Rome, Italy | 1st | Long jump | 8.52 m |
| 1980 | Liberty Bell Classic | Philadelphia, United States | 1st | Long jump | 8.20 m |
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 34th (h) | 200 m | 21.74 |
| 1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 4th | Long jump | 8.16 m |
| 1985 | Grand Prix Final | Rome, Italy | 2nd | Long jump | 8.22 m |
| 1986 | Goodwill Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 2nd | Long jump | 8.41 m |
| 1987 | World Indoor Championships | Indianapolis, United States | 1st | Long jump | 8.23 m |
| Pan American Games | Indianapolis, United States | 2nd | Long jump | 8.58 m (w) | |
| World Championships | Rome, Italy | 3rd | Long jump | 8.33 m | |
| Grand Prix Final | Brussels, Belgium | 3rd | Long jump | 8.06 m | |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 3rd | Long jump | 8.27 m |
| 1989 | World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | Long jump | 8.37 m |
| World Cup | Barcelona, Spain | 1st | Long jump | 8.29 m | |
| Grand Prix Final | Monte Carlo, Monaco | 1st | Long jump | 8.54 m | |
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 3rd | Long jump | 8.42 m |
| Grand Prix Final | Barcelona, Spain | 2nd | Long jump | 8.06 m | |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's Long Jump Best Year Performance 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Men's Long Jump Best Year Performance 1989 | Succeeded by |
USTFCCCA Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame | ||
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| Class of 2022 |
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| Class of 2023 | ||
| Class of 2024 | ||
