Olympics: The digital revolution takes the center ring

August, 2008

LOOK AT Bob Beamon's record 29-foot, 2 1/2-inch long jump from the 1968 Summer Olympics on YouTube; it almost looks like a grainy animation. It was perhaps the greatest single Olympic performance ever -- after all, no one had long-jumped even 28 feet before and there has only been one jump longer than it in the four decades since. Beamon was the favorite, so there were two cameras on him, unusual in its day. Still, even with slow motion added, Beamon's extraordinary leap lacks real visual oomph.