I think, and its a big think, I seem to remember he had a technique change after 1995, maybe one of the jump guys can help me out here. I remember one of the TV commentators mention during the WR season he was using the double arm shift technique, and then afterwards used something else.
That’s interesting, i just found out that the workout i had created for myself isn’t that much different from edward’s. 3 hi-intensity days consisting of olympic lifts and plyos and 2 days of tempo.
One thing i found out that benefited in developing explosive strength in those whom suffers from the lack of explosive strength at takeoff is standing triple jump. Not only did i improve my overall elastic strength, my triple jumping technique improved as well. I incorporated a lot of single leg bounding, standing triple jump, and olympic lifts in my training and saw a significant improvement in both strength, speed, and technique.
I kept the volume low for weight lifting but high for bounding only. A simple regime like that had given me a huge gain in 3 months. Just thought i’d like to share this.
How much did you gain on your triple jump? Can you maybe post a sample high intensity day?
92,5kg @ with slightly less than 80kg BW is not nearly the same as 112kg @ 72kg (without snatching into a squat). However, I seriously doubt you’ll find that any conventional ‘tests’ will prophesize an 18+ triple jump. I guess it eventually comes down to when rhythm and technique is exactly on par with an exceptional physical performance level. Triple jump is, foremost, a technical event. Add to that a 10.6m/s approach and a 6.50m first step without loosing too much speed together with precise timing (especially the free leg) and you’ll have your ‘test’ variables.
Actually, I was wondering the same; from 85kg to 112kg in a linear fashon… especially since I’ve seen him clean and snatch???
From what I remember he was using the double arm technique for the step and jump in Göteborg, but changed that to using double arm technique only for the jump (Atlanta, Athens).
His jumping is largely based on high approach velocities (>10.5m/s) and short support times (knee angle markedly straighter from most others). As lorien said triple jump is highly technical in nature so lifting numbers don’t necessarily convert into a good jumping performance. The high volume of lifts in JE’s program made it possible for him to reduce the volume of bounding and thus reduce the stress on his ankles and knees. Olsson is apparently doing it the other way and voila, he’s had four operations on his ankle in a short period of time, again missing the whole indoor season. Of course he’s a totally different type of jumper, but maybe something could be learned from JE’s training.
My physio told me that JE went to see a specialist after he had gone off the rails with his jumping. He was unable to do a partial single leg squat without dropping his hip dramatically.
The specialist told him to stengthen his core, which resulted in him getting back close to his best.
This appears to be a good thread. Can we get it up and running again? The triple jump seems to be an event that requires more skill than I previously thought. I used to think that getting an athlete stronger and faster would lead to direct gains in this event - but from personal observations i now think that the most important factor in improvement is technique. So fininding a good triple jump coach would be the most important thing to do. Agree? Disagree?
I definitely agree. While some kids will be able to win by just pure athleticism and no technique, in the long run, it will catch up to them. I worked with Brad Kanuch (now starts wideout for the UConn Huskies) in the triple and his technique was horrible, but he compensated with his 10.5 speed and ended up placing 2nd at states.
You work with him in high school? You from the Westmont Area? His brother Jim was a pretty good athlete too back in the day.
haha yea, i go to a nearby school and thought hey there is no way i’m going to out jump this kid so might as well work form with him. So he came up to the school every once in a while and we worked form, truly a gifted athlete
Any idea what kinda workouts he did?
Too bad they both went to football, they were both definately better track athletes.
Did this speedy triple jumper ever improve his form or did he just get by on his superior speed? i am interested to hear about how and if he ever developed tj technique competency. btw, thanks for reviving this thread.
I also believe that triple jump is a highly technique demanding event. Speed conservation through the phases is key (see edwards) and the usage of the free limbs is extremely important in this. Speed conservation is highly related with phase distribution; there is a study that analyzed the jumps at the 1996 Olympic final. All jumpers achieved the best results when their jump phase was longer than the usual, thus meaning, that they reached their jump phase with a higher speed.
Btw, I have a strange problem with the triple jump. I am unable to jump at any speed above my 80% without wrecking. All the jumps I have made succesfully untill now were run at my 75% (last week I equaled my pr with a 6-step approach 
, pr set without any kind of thenical knowledge last year). Have you experienced something similar?
I am slowly easing into TJ after ankle problems. My plyometric ability and speed are good and I hope to jump along way… If I don’t get the technique right however I’ll end up injuring my ankle again. I trian with two 16m+ jumpers including the European u-23 champion.
No he never did improve his form, He went soley on his speed and athleticism. He couldn’t control his speed down the runway. He would generate so much speed that he would have a ridiculous first phase (i mean far) then a crappy second and a mediocre third. His furthest jump was 47 plus as a junior and placed at states, but didn’t hit that mark his senior year. He was originally supposed to double up at UConn running track and playing football, but he decided to hang up the track spikes and concentrate on football.
No i don’t know any workouts he did…he didn’t have the best coaches so he really didn’t have much of a training program. He never worked technique at his practices so thats why we worked together
Why didn’t he long jump?.. sounds like he had all the attributes.
he also long jumped and the 100 and 200
Do you know if edwards dropped weights between repetitions?
Do you mean lifting or dropping actual weight between competitions?