# Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's long jump

The men's long jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Tuesday, August 17, 1920, and on Wednesday, August 18, 1920. 29 long jumpers from eleven nations competed. No nation had more than 4 runners, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912. The event was won by William Petersson of Sweden, the first time an athlete not from the United States took gold in the long jump.

## Background

This was the sixth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the jumpers from the pre-war 1912 Games returned. Sol Butler of the United States was the favorite; he had jumped 7.52 metres to win the U.S. Olympic trials, but could only manage 6.60 metres in the qualifying round at the Olympics and did not proceed to the finals.
Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Monaco, and Switzerland each made their first appearance in the event. The United States appeared for the sixth time, the only nation to have long jumpers at each of the Games so far.

## Competition format

The 1920 format continued to use the two-round format used in 1900 and since 1908. The number of finalists expanded from 3 in previous Games to 6 in 1920. Each jumper had three jumps in the qualifying round; finalists received an additional three jumps, with qualifying round jumps still counting if the final jumps were not better.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.
| World record | Peter O'Connor (GBR) | 7.61 | Dublin, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | 5 August 1901 |
| Olympic record | Albert Gutterson (USA) | 7.60 | Stockholm, Sweden | 12 July 1912 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Round |
| Tuesday, 17 August 1920 | 9:00 | Qualifying |
| Wednesday, 18 August 1920 | 15:45 | Final |

## Results

The best six long jumpers qualified for the final.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Qualifying | Qualifying | Final | Best mark |
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Distance | Rank | Final | Best mark |
| | William Petersson | Sweden | 6.940 | 1 | 7.150 | 7.150 |
| | Carl Johnson | United States | 6.820 | 3 | 7.095 | 7.095 |
| | Erik Abrahamsson | Sweden | 6.860 | 2 | 7.080 | 7.080 |
| 4 | Dink Templeton | United States | 6.670 | 5 | 6.950 | 6.950 |
| 5 | Erling Aastad | Norway | 6.620 | 6 | 6.885 | 6.885 |
| 6 | Rolf Franksson | Sweden | 6.730 | 4 | Unknown | 6.730 |
| 7 | Sol Butler | United States | 6.600 | 7 | Did not advance | 6.600 |
| 8 | Einar Ræder | Norway | 6.585 | 8 | Did not advance | 6.585 |
| 9 | Gösta Bladin | Sweden | 6.570 | 9 | Did not advance | 6.570 |
| 10 | Johan Johannesen | Norway | 6.565 | 10 | Did not advance | 6.565 |
| 11 | John Merchant | United States | 6.500 | 11 | Did not advance | 6.500 |
| 11 | Eugène Coulon | France | 6.500 | 11 | Did not advance | 6.500 |
| 13 | William Hunter | Great Britain | 6.420 | 13 | Did not advance | 6.420 |
| 14 | Marcel Orfidan | France | 6.390 | 14 | Did not advance | 6.390 |
| 15 | Hans Kindler | Switzerland | 6.340 | 15 | Did not advance | 6.340 |
| 16 | Eero Lehtonen | Finland | 6.285 | 16 | Did not advance | 6.285 |
| 17 | Charles Courtin | France | 6.230 | 17 | Did not advance | 6.230 |
| 18 | Gustave De Bruyne | Belgium | 6.200 | 18 | Did not advance | 6.200 |
| 19 | Hugo Lahtinen | Finland | 6.190 | 19 | Did not advance | 6.190 |
| 20 | Harold Abrahams | Great Britain | 6.050 | 20 | Did not advance | 6.050 |
| 21 | Edmond Médécin | Monaco | 6.035 | 21 | Did not advance | 6.035 |
| 22 | Charles Lively | Great Britain | 5.870 | 22 | Did not advance | 5.870 |
| 23 | Henri Pleger | Luxembourg | 5.815 | 23 | Did not advance | 5.815 |
| 24 | Jean Lefèbvre | Belgium | 5.790 | 24 | Did not advance | 5.790 |
| 25 | Julien Lehouck | Belgium | 5.760 | 25 | Did not advance | 5.760 |
| 26 | František Šretr | Czechoslovakia | 5.550 | 26 | Did not advance | 5.550 |
| 27 | Charles Guézille | France | 5.485 | 27 | Did not advance | 5.485 |
| 28 | Paul Hammer | Luxembourg | 5.450 | 28 | Did not advance | 5.450 |
| 29 | Nicolas Kanivé | Luxembourg | 5.415 | 29 | Did not advance | 5.415 |
| — | Gustave Remouet | France | DNS | — | Did not advance | — |
| — | Alexis Soulignac | France | DNS | — | Did not advance | — |