Short answers, pulled from the story.
Chionis was a Greek athlete who leaped 7.05 meters in 656 BC. This distance was considered impossible for modern jumpers without modern technology. The event was part of the pentathlon and used heavy weights called halteres to generate momentum.
The long jump reemerged in the modern Olympic Games in 1896. Women were included in the Olympic program in 1948. This delay reflected the slow evolution of gender equality in sports.
If any part of the foot crosses the foul line, the jump is declared invalid and no distance is recorded. The takeoff board is 20 centimeters wide and is made of wood or synthetic material. Officials use plasticine or laser sensors to detect if the line is crossed.
Mike Powell of the United States holds the men's world record of 8.95 meters set on the 11th of June 1991 in Tokyo. Galina Chistyakova of the former Soviet Union holds the women's world record of 7.52 meters set on the 11th of June 1988 in Leningrad.
Elite long jumpers use the hang, the hitch-kick, or the sail technique. The hang technique extends the free leg to align beneath the hips to minimize rotational forces. The hitch-kick counters forward rotation by orchestrating secondary rotations of the upper and lower extremities.
Ancient jumpers used halteres ranging from 1 to 4.5 kilograms and landed in a temporary patch of earth called the skamma. Modern competitions use rubberized runways and sand pits with a 2025 take-off zone reform allowing jumps from a 40-centimeter wide zone. The number of attempts varies from three to six depending on the competition level.