Jonathan David Edwards, CBE (born 10 May 1966) is a British former triple jumper. He is an Olympic, double World, European, European indoor and Commonwealth champion, and has held the world record in the event since 1995. Edwards is widely regarded as the greatest triple-jumper in history.
Following his retirement as an athlete, Edwards has worked as a sports (primarily athletics) commentator and presenter for BBC television, before moving to Eurosport. Formerly a devout Christian, he also presented episodes of the BBC Christian worship programme Songs of Praise, but ended his association with the programme in 2007 when he said he had lost his faith. In 2011 he was elected President of the Wenlock Olympian Society following the death of its then President, Roy Rogers. He was a member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the 2012 games.
Education
editThis section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (August 2022) |
Edwards was born in Westminster, London and attended West Buckland School[4] in Devon 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 included Victor Ubogu and Steve 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 at Durham University, attending Van Mildert College.
Athletics career
editDue to his strong Christian beliefs during his athletic career, discussed in more detail below, 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's World Championships took place on a Sunday. He went on to win the bronze medal.[citation needed]
In his breakthrough year of 1995, Edwards produced a jump of 18.43 m (60 feet 5+1⁄2 inches) at the European 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 historic gold medal performance at the World 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 the 2008 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 the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.[6]
During 1996 Edwards went into the 1996 Summer Olympics as favourite and world record holder, but it was American Kenny Harrison who took the gold with a jump of 18.09 m. Edwards walked away with the silver after a leap of 17.88 m (the longest ever jump not to win gold). Edwards won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics,[7] and was appointed a CBE shortly thereafter. He also won golds at the 2001 World Championships and 2002 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 the 2003 World Championships.[8]
Post-athletics career
edit
Following his retirement, Edwards has pursued a media career as a television presenter mainly working for the BBC as a sports commentator and presenter, and on programmes such as Songs of Praise until he gave up this programme, due to his loss of faith, in February 2007.[9]
Edwards regularly presents BBC coverage of athletics. When he is not presenting coverage, Edwards often provides expert analysis on field events as part of the BBC commentary team.
After retiring from competition, Edwards became a keen recreational cyclist[10] and has presented the BBC's coverage of cycle racing since 2012. He also covered the 2014 Winter Olympics for the BBC and the 2014 Winter Paralympics for Channel 4.[3]
Edwards also served as a presenter for the Olympic Announcement ceremonies during the IOC sessions in Guatemala in 2007 and Copenhagen in 2009.
In 2004, Edwards joined with Paula Radcliffe on an Olympic Special Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The pair raised £64,000 for charity with half of that sum going to the British Olympic Association and a quarter of the sum going to Asthma UK.[11]
In 2011, Edwards became President of Wenlock Olympian Society, organisers of the annual Wenlock Olympian Games held in Shropshire.[12]
He was a member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, representing athletes in the organisation of the 2012 Summer Olympics.[13]
In February 2016, after 13 years with the BBC, Edwards announced that he had agreed to join Eurosport 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 the 2016 European Aquatics Championships in May in London.[14]
International competitions
edit| 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 | |
Personal bests
editAwards
editEdwards received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2002.[16]
An honorary doctorate was conferred upon him at a ceremony at the University of Exeter on 21 January 2006.[17]
Later in the same year, an honorary doctorate of the university (DUniv) was conferred upon him at the winter graduation ceremony of the University of Ulster (19 December 2006).[18]
Personal life
editEdwards lives with his wife in Newcastle upon Tyne. They have two sons.[citation needed]
Edwards was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to the 2014 referendum on that issue.[19]
Religious beliefs
editEdwards initially refused to compete on Sundays due to his devout Christian beliefs, a decision that cost him a chance to compete in the 1991 World Championships. However, in 1993, after much deliberation and discussion with his father (a vicar), he changed his mind, deciding that God gave him his talent in order for him to compete in athletics. 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."[9]
He presented episodes of the Christian television show Songs of Praise until 2007. In June 2007, in an interview in The 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 also said: "I feel internally happier than at any time of my life."[20]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Jonathan Edwards". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jonathan Edwards". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ a b MacLeary, John (12 February 2014). "Twenty questions with ... former Olympic triple jump gold medallist and world record holder Jonathan Edwards". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ "Visitors to WBS: Jonathan Edwards". Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ Rowbottom, Mike (4 August 2008). "An email conversation with Jonathan Edwards". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ "Sports Personality: Jonathan Edwards wins in 1995". BBC Sport. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ "Jonathan Edwards: 'The overriding emotion was not of happiness but relief'". The Independent. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ Steve Smythe (1 December 2020). "Jonathan Edwards' great strides". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ a b Knight, Tom (12 February 2007). "Olympian Jonathan Edwards has 'crisis of faith'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ Monk, Viki (19 May 2015). "Cycling in the Lakes: Jonathan Edwards's favourite routes". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ "Paula Radcliffe an asthmatic herself raises money for Asthma UK in TV competition". Medical News Today. 21 May 2004. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ "Jonathan Edwards CBE has accepted the post of President of the Wenlock Olympian Society". Wenlock Olympian Society. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ Jonathan Edwards appointed to the new London 2012 board Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine london2012.com
- ^ Sweeney, Mark; Gibson, Owen (17 February 2016). "BBC's Jonathan Edwards makes the jump to Eurosport in exclusive deal". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Triple Jump – men – senior – outdoor". IAAF. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ^ "Heriot--Watt University Edinburgh & Scottish Borders: Annual Review 2002–2003" (PDF). www1.hw.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ Honorary Graduates of the University – Doctor of Laws (LLD) Archived 22 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine exeter.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ UU Honours Olympian Jonathan Edwards Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine ulster.ac.uk
- ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ "'I have never been happier' says the man who won gold but lost God", The Times, 27 June 2007.
External links
edit
- Jonathan Edwards at World Athletics
- Jonathan Edwards at European Athletics (archive)
- Jonathan David Edwards at Olympics.com
- Jonathan David Edwards at OlympicChannel.com (archived)
- Jonathan Edwards at Olympic.org (archived)
- Jonathan Edwards at Olympedia (archive)
- Jonathan Edwards at IMDb
- http://www.mtc-uk.com/talent/jonathan-edwards/
- http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/athletics/sydney-medallist-emabrrassed-by-god-fervour/story-e6frfgkx-1225815303222
- Jonathan Edwards, Interview on London's 2012 Olympic Games
