Tuariki Delamere's somersault long jump | Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sporting Legends | The Spinoff
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ค. 2024
- At a college track and field championships meet in 1974, a New Zealand long jumper representing Washington State University did something that had never been done in competition before - a somersault.
Season two of Scratched: Aotearoa's Lost Sporting Legends celebrates six New Zealand athletes whose incredible feats have been forgotten or gone unappreciated. Featuring Meda McKenzie, Tuariki Delamere, Jane Tehira, Angela Walker, Precious McKenzie and Lee Ralph. New episodes weekly.
Made with the support of NZ On Air.
WEBSITE: thespinoff.co.nz
FACEBOOK: / thespinofftv
TWITTER: / thespinofftv
INSTAGRAM: / thespinofftv - กีฬา
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 71 วันนี้!! คู่เอก "ทรงชัยน้อย vs รักษ์"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_AGPnq2p6Js/mqdefault.jpg)
Latest episode of Scratched on Heath Davis here: th-cam.com/video/Bo_gOfj87SU/w-d-xo.html
I also did the somersault long jump while at the University of Louisville in 1974. (I walked on my junior year in college). A guy from Iowa State had done it, Dave Nielson or something like that, at the Mason Dixon Games, an indoor meet, in Feb/March of 1974. A sequence of shots were published in the Courier Journal. My coach, Jim Freeman, saw the photos and showed me at practice. He was a sprinter and knew nothing of the jump events so I was on my own to learn this.
At 5' 10" and only 130 pounds, I would try ANYTHING to improve.
I headed over to the pole vault pit, a nice, big foam one, and began trying it. After about a half hour, coach asked me if I was ready to give it a try on sand and I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life. I was scared to death. However, I knew how much it would mean to my coach if I'd try. Our team was a complete afterthought to the university, no funding, a beat-up track, a few ancient uniforms, no trainer, just to mention a few shortcomings. I even had to tape my own ankles and my legs to ease my shin splints. I also had to buy my own shoes and mine were pretty much worn out. I was hoping to lift team morale by risking my neck.
I took off, watching the ground turn to sky and then turn to grass and splash, I had made it, alive! Coach was shouting with joy but finally calmed down enough to say how proud he was of me and took off the track shoes he had on and gave them to me.
I asked a gymnast classmate, Barbara Divas, who was our school's best, about what I should do. She taught me about tucking as tightly as possible to speed up rotation. Notice that John's tuck is a bit loose, which would have really helped him out.
During "pop-ups," a shortened approach of about 8 strides, I was consistently above 20 feet. However, with a full run, I was about at the same distance, not 25+ as one would expect. Since no one could coach me or give me suggestions, I was at a loss of what to do.
We went to the conference indoor meet at Des Moines and this would be it. A snowstorm had knocked out power the night before, we showed up late and with my frozen legs, only had time to take a couple of run-ups which began down the banked track, totally throwing off my regular mark. I scratched three times when normally, I almost never scratched.
However, for the triple jump, I at least had adjusted my starting mark and got three non-scratch marks, deciding to do the somersault on the last phase. It was only about 40 feet. Still, like John, maybe I own the world record for using a somersault on the last phase. Word got around and I was interviewed by a sports reporter from the Des Moines paper, an article I still have at home.
My coach had gotten contacted by "Sports Illustrated," who wanted to interview me. The guy hadn't showed up by the time we were to drive back to Louisville. That's right DRIVE back to Louisville in a beat-up van and some guys in Coach Freeman's huge boat of a car. In front of the team, coach asked if I wanted to stay for the interview. I knew the guys wanted to leave and also seemed jealous of the press attention I was starting to get. The class thing to do was say no and let's all leave.
On the way back, I got to ride in coach's car with two other guys which majorly beat being squeezed into the metallic interior of the budget van with most of the team squeezed into it.
I planned to debut the jump outdoors at, I think, Murray State in Kentucky. When we got there, just like John's first time, the pit began about 16 feet from the board and I was scared to death, again. From the whispers, people were aware of what I was going to try. I could hear several movie-type cameras clicking down the runway and as I launched and landed. It wasn't far, less than 20 feet. I had survived and that was enough for me. Having just run the 400 hurdles shortly before that had killed my legs and spring, I think.
Coach Freeman offered me a scholarship at that point but I was already on a NROTC one and didn't need it. I was running for the love of it and out of respect for my coach, a former fifth man for the U.S. 4 X 100 team.
I was always the last person to leave practice, especially with the outdoor conference meet coming up. I was actually learning on my own and improving. Again, I was the last one out there.
For my last practice that season, I headed over to the pole vault pit to try out some new ideas. My pop-ups felt really good and far. I was going to do a full run now. My run-up has always been perfection, except when running "downhill" like in Des Moines. I took off exactly on the board but...completely flew over the pole vault pit and landed on the tires on the back. Like John, my butt was way behind my feet. Even then, my jump was 25' 4"!! I decided NOT to tell anyone what I might be able to do. What a surprise I would be at the conference meet. In competition, that distance would have been a university record for our school for the next 20 or so years!
However, at our next practice, the coaches read out who would be going to the championship and with budget constraints, some runners would be left out. As I was a walk-on junior, the coaches thought to give the experience of the championship to a younger runner.
As far as I was concerned, that was it. I left practice and my "career" for U of L was basically over. A new coach had been hired the next year, a guy who had been coaching junior high track at a school next to the university. I'm sure he worked for less money. He knew nothing and after our first indoor meet at Indiana, I got to see one of their jumpers do the somersault that meet but I was only going to triple jump. I wasn't ready for the long jump as we had only "practiced" running inside a concrete-floored warehouse a few times with no jump pit.
I felt I was wasting my time and had lost my inspiration, Coach Freeman. I quit the team, concentrated on my academics, and for the first time, made the dean's list. I got commissioned and served my time in the U.S. Navy. When I got out, I started teaching in 1979 and began coaching in 1984. Beginning in 1987 at the American School of the Hague in The Netherlands, I've coached long and triple jumpers until about 1998. They compete in the European championships for international schools (the ISST meet). Over those years, two boys and two girls won gold in the triple jump and one boy in the long jump.
My next school is in the Ukraine. I won't be coaching track as I've also been a volleyball nut all these years, since my Navy time. Their volleyball season is at the same time as track. Since I am only interested in jumps, I would rather coach volleyball.
Sorry this is so long but the experience of taking on the somersault remains ingrained in my memories. Without this clip, if I mentioned on other two-footed somersault videos on TH-cam what a few other guys actually did, other commenters thought I was making up the one-footed takeoff. Nope. It was real and like John, when looking at what is being done in gymnastics all these years, the somersault long jump should never have been banned.
Oh, yep. I also became a sportswriter and photographer, winning some awards for smaller papers. It's been a fun ride!
Thanks for sharing! This is an amazing story.
Brilliant mate!
Beautiful.
I did it in high school practice in 1974 /75 and was ready to do it in competition when it was banned. Yes, it was kind of scary. Our coach had us practice by jumping off of a wooden box, maybe 12 to 18 inches high. I'm not sure of the reasoning except to make sure we made it all the way around. haha. We never did try it on the pole vault landing pit. We just landed in the sand. One time I stopped half way and pretty much landed on my neck and looking back I was lucky I wasn't injured.
Back then, Bruce Jenner had done the flip in competition and my coach introduced me to him at the San Jose City track before he won the gold medal. I recall Jenner said it added a foot or so to his jump. A few weeks later the long jump flip was banned. Whatever happened to Jenner by the way?
@@timphelanart WOW! ...landing on your neck that time! You were VERY lucky, I think.
This is great and a cool story. As a little side note, in my 7th form year at a Rotorua High School, this dude in my house class did exactly this technique during our school athletics day. To qualify for the senior boys long jump final you had to jump 4.5 m and you were given a single attempt. This guy casually forward flipped his jump to make the final and no one could believe their eyes.The head of PE said afterwards that this kid was the best athlete he had ever seen in his 20 year high school career. He made it look easy. Just amazing.
not to brag but 4.5m wasn't that hard, and I was very average
4:45 I wish they'd show long jumps on tv with this camera angle, where you can see the total length they jump all in one shot. It shows you just how long it is they jumped. With the camera zoomed right in to the athlete, and then moving along with them, you can't tell how long they've jumped as easily. And changing the camera angles mid-jump and going into slow motion makes it even more difficult. It makes the jump look way less impressive.
I never knew this technique even existed. Someone needs to master this and jump 9 metres. Only then will the judges be forced reconsider their approach to the rule book.
its used pretty widely in free running, look up dom tomato, he gets well over 9m on concrete lol
@@DDracee Yeah but I guess while falling on a down gradient not on the flat.
@@thenewcamelot8873 no he can do 9m on flat, this technique is his bread and butter and he's been doing it daily for years
I never new this about Tuariki....Respect
the minute I saw the name I checked again and saw that Tuariki does Shot Put and Discus as a NZ Master athlete. I look forward to meeting him in competition and chatting some day soon
This is one of the most unexpected Wazzu story I've ever come across. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!
I may have been the only California high schooler doing this jump in 1975. Have super8 film of it. Never passed 20 ft though about as far as I did with the hitch kick method. My coach showed me the newspaper sequence and suggested I try it. Practiced my landings on a foam high jump pad. I understand why it was outlawed. Everyone who saw me doing it thought I was crazy and WTF?
If there was a way to digitize that film footage you should do it, maybe even send it to Tuariki!
I was doing it in practice in a California high school right before it was banned. So was my team mate. It was a weird feeling as I had never done any gymnastics before, so running at full speed and then flipping...? Not a natural thing to do for me.
@@calvinbaII Course, photograph the footy directly.
Maori boys flipping their own rules for old people to wag their fingers at. Nothing has changed
I do front flips and sorts for fun. I have an interest in parkour. my best skill is my front flip and I tried to see how far I could front flip. I was blown away that I was able to front flip further than I could do a standard jump. This technique really works and its wonderful. It makes sense that it never took off because it would take a lot of time for an athlete to train a skill that is in a different sport entirely to long jumping in order for it to be perfected.
I can only imagine that the sport would've been so much more successful if Tuariki Delamere had perfected his technique then applied it to competition. In parkour the somersault would then be called the Delamere technique and parkour would've probably exploded a lot earlier in human history. Imagination, what a wonderful thing.
I did it in high school practice in 1974 /75 and was ready to do it in competition when it was banned. Yes, it was kind of scary. Our coach had us practice by jumping off of a wooden box, maybe 12 to 18 inches high. I'm not sure of the reasoning except to make sure we made it all the way around. haha. We never did try it on the pole vault landing pit. We just landed in the sand. One time I stopped half way and pretty much landed on my neck and looking back I was lucky I wasn't injured.
Back then, Bruce Jenner had done the flip in competition and my coach introduced me to him at the San Jose City track before he won the gold medal. I recall Jenner said it added a foot or so to his jump. A few weeks later the long jump flip was banned. Whatever happened to Jenner by the way?
Event: Long Jump. Athlete: Finds the best technique to jump the longest in said event. Officiator: That's not happening cause I didn't think of it. The year is 2022: We literally have parkour masters in this world that jump so much further than any long jumper ever could and this is because they flip forward whilst doing so. I can only imagine the record if one of those guys gave their all to the sport with the somersault reintroduced as the Delamere technique.
Awesome. Enjoyed this video
I did this at a High School meet knowing it was illegal but it was still worth it for the laughs
you're a wizard though
That's cool and innovative
Great story also check out Athol Barton, first winner of the San Francisco Marathon. Athol was from Whakatane.
I went to High School with his sister. Must check Athol out.
Love it
Crazy that that was banned, I was even thinking before they brought up the high jump isn't this just the natural evolution of the long jump, like the high jump.
Legend.
Legend
Flippin heck Tuariki lol Tauke
The thing that gets me is that he attempted it for the first time in the meet? Never tried it in practice???!
I did this while in school and got disqualified for it. The sport would be so much more interesting if somersaults were allowed.
Something in the water at Merivale primary
Now that's Tops
Just ignore the authorities and make the world record anyway. Never mind its officialness, it will have intrinsic authority of its own.
I miss my 1972 Toyota celica st.
People from New Zealand are just made differently.
The olympics are a back alley side show.
I would break my neck doing that lol
Chur ....I didn't even know Tuariki Delamere was an athlete??...cool story👍🏾
I mean if you have forward momentum that makes you go into a rotational motion, youre just still accelerating in your run up or you just can’t produce enough force for how fast you’re running . It sounds exactly like the case with the fact he was a genetic freak but was never properly coached
I think the fosbury flop is bullshit unless you complete the backflip. Saw some dude do it over his fence. Also; What happens if you do a "dive roll" into the pit? Wouldn't that be the most natural direction, and also gain yourself a few feet at the end?
The fosbury flop is bullshit?
For long jump you have to land feet first. But weirdly in high jump you can land on your left ear so long as the bar stays up.
somersault is deemed dangerous it is banned on almost all sports events except gymnastic . . .
Fk the rules
always been wondering why the hell not do a summersault instead of that akward way they do it today. oh well, these types of sports are dying off anyways so i guess who cares
I have never once seen a convincing biomechanical analysis that shows this to be superior technique. Why? Because it doesn't exist because this technique is absolutely NOT biomechanically better. This is because long jump is a function of impulse and center of gravity parabola. There is no way you can jump longer by *reducing* your COG height through increased rotation. This is WHY the block at the board -- which converts vertical velocity to horizontal velocity) is the determining variable in distance.
I think bio mechanically humans have stronger explosive strength going forward and about 45 degrees upward instead of directly 90 to the horizontal. Jumping with a flip allows you to push off the ground at this precise angle giving you the largest possible distance.
Chatting shiet robo kid😂