triple jump

The triple jump is an athletics (track and field) event, previously also known as "hop, skip and jump" or "hop, step and jump", whose various names describe the actions a competitor takes. The athlete runs down a runway until they reach a takeoff mark, from which the jump is measured. The takeoff mark is a "board", which is commonly implemented as a physical piece of wood or like material embedded in the runway, or a rectangle painted on the runway surface. In modern championships a strip of plasticine or modeling clay is attached to the board to record athletes overstepping the mark, defined by the trailing edge of the board.

There are three phases of the triple jump, articulated in the original event name: the "hop" phase, the "step" phase, and the "jump" phase. These three phases are executed in one continuous sequence. The hop starts with the athlete jumping from the mark on his/her takeoff leg, and ends landing on the runway with the takeoff leg. In the step, the athlete immediately jumps with the takeoff leg and lands on the runway with the opposite leg. The step is followed by the jump, where the athlete jumps from that same non-takeoff leg and lands in a sand-filled pit. The jump phase is very similar to the long jump. A "foul", also known as a "scratch" or missed jump, occurs when a jumper oversteps the takeoff mark, misses the pit entirely, does not use the correct foot sequences throughout the phases, or does not perform the attempt in the allotted amount of time (usually about one minute).

The object of the triple jump is to achieve the maximum distance from the board to the mark made in the sand at the end of the jump phase. To achieve this, a primary factor is for the athlete to preserve as much forward velocity achieved at the beginning of the hop, throughout the sequence of the 3 phases, all the while transmitting a healthy portion of horizontal energy into vertical energy in each phase.