Aaron Sampson’s leap of faith
Step aside, Edwin Moses. Your goal of qualifying for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 400-meter hurdles at age 48 is peanuts compared with the dream of long jumper Aaron Sampson of Utah. Sampson, who set a world M40 best of 25-2 1/2 in 2002, is reportedly aiming for 28 feet — at the Athens Games, no less.
In its December 2003 issue, National Masters News reports on page 15:
Aaron Sampson . . . lists his goals for 2004: USATF Masters Indoor Championships, 25-0, USATF Indoor Championships, 26-0, BYU Invitational, 26-0, Mt. SAC Invitational, 26-6, U.S. Olympic Trials, 27-6, and 2004 Olympic Games, 28-0 or better for the gold.
NMN quotes Sampson as saying: “My training is going very well. I am now concentrating on the mental focus necessary for a 42-year-old to jump past 28 feet. I have a great team behind me, including Craig Poole (BYU women’s track coach and jump coach for the 2004 Olympic team).”
Ah, where to begin with this mother of all fantasies.
How about Puerto Rico, where Sampson this past July jumped 23-2 3/4 (7.08) with a gale of 4.1 mps (9.17 mph). That winning mark, exceptional in masters competition, is a far cry from the 7.80 B standard (25-7 1/4) or 8.10 A standard (26-7) needed to compete at the Sacramento Olympic Trials in July 2004.
Keep in mind, Sampson’s all-time personal best is 25-7 1/2 set way back in 1983, when he won the NAIA.
Only a handful of masters athletes have achieved world-class marks that exceeded their open marks. One was Al Oerter, who nearly made the ill-fated 1980 U.S. Olympic team. Oerter threw the discus an incredible 227-11 (69.46) at age 43 in May 1980. The wind in Wichita may have helped. Another is Regina Jacobs, who at age 39 became the first women to break the 4-minute barrier indoors in the 1,500. Designer drugs may have helped.
How far is 28 feet? Metrically, 8.53 meters. In real-world terms, it’s a distance that Carl Lewis never achieved after age 35, when he won the gold at Atlanta with a jump of 27-10 3/4 (8.50).
So in effect, Sampson is saying: “I aim to do what Carl Lewis couldn’t.”
Another way of looking at the 28-foot goal is via the Age Graded Standards. The old standards are online (the new ones haven’t been published yet.) Under the old WMA standards, an 8.53 jump at age 42 is equivalent to an open (under-30) mark of 9.88 (with an age-graded percentage of 110.35 percent, where anything over 90 percent is world-class).
How far is 9.88 meters? A mere 32 feet, 5 inches.
Masters track is a sport in which aging sprinters like to say: “The older I get, the faster I was.” Sampson says: “The older I get, the farther I can jump.”
Give Sampson credit for his strong suit, however. The man hasn’t lost the power to dream. Guess that’s half the battle at our age.
3 Responses
i met Aaron at the 2002 masters outdoor national championships in Maine, and i wish him the best ofluck in the long jump because he is a very nice person to talk to and full of life and spirit and thats half the battle
I also had the honor of meeting and competing against Aaron at the masters outdoors track and field championships in Sacramento on july 24th 2010 and i must say he is a very likable guy, totally humble and a great asset to the sport, it was an honor being beat by 2 inches by Aaron in the long jump, in my opinion he’s definetly a world class guy.
I taught Aaron everything he knows about jumping! And then when I awoke from my dream lost to him at every track event I ever competed against him in. Aaron is like my brother and he will always be my favorite long jumper besides his twin brother Adrian! Ha Ha!
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