Long Jump, Men

This was expected to be one of the top competitions as the three top long jumpers in the world – Al Kraenzlein, Meyer Prinstein, and Ireland’s Peter O’Connor – were entered. Kraenzlein and Prinstein had set six of the last seven world records during the past three years, while O’Connor would begin later in the summer to set four consecutive world records. Unfortunately, O’Connor failed to show up.

Qualifying was held on Saturday and the final on Sunday. The top five finishers in the qualifying round were allowed to compete in the final, with marks made in qualifying counting towards the final results. After Saturday, Meyer Prinstein led with 7.175 to Al Kraenzlein’s 6.93 metres. Some sources claim that Prinstein and Kraenzlein both made an agreement at that point to not compete on Sunday.

Whether they did or not, Kraenzlein did jump on Sunday and edged out Prinstein by one centimetre. Prinstein was outraged and may have punched Kraenzlein when the result was announced. Though difficult to tell if any fists actually landed, he definitely had to be restrained to keep him from Kraenzlein. The ironic thing about all this is that both Kraenzlein and Prinstein competed on their Sabbaths. Prinstein, a Jew, competed on Saturday, while Kraenzlein, a Gentile, competed on Sunday.