Edwards Lets Fly With 60-1/4 Triple

Believe it, Jonathan.

Jonathan Edwards, the unassuming British triple jumper, who finds it hard to believe what he has accomplished, smashed the world record twice at the World Championships.

In shattering the mark for the first time, Edwards became the first jumper to surpass 59 feet, his previous record, by soaring 59-7, on his first attempt.

On his second try, he surpassed the magical 60-foot barrier by a quarter of an inch.

After those efforts, the first time anyone has broken his own triple jump record twice in the same meet since Brazilian Adhemar Ferreira da Silva did it during the 1952 Olympic final at Helsinki, the shaken Edwards passed twice.

He then completed his remarkable series by jumping 57-4-3/4 before again passing.

“It is difficult to take in,” Edwards, 29, had said after first setting the record of 59 feet at Salamanca, Spain, breaking Willie Banks’ 10-year-old mark of 58-11-1/2. “In my mind, there is still a distance between what I read about and who I am.

“People are comparing my performances to those of Bob Beamon and Butch Reynolds, and that feels very odd because these are legends in the sport, And this is just me. It’s quite humbling to do what I’ve done.”

Only a year ago, Edwards, the son of a churchman, was hardly close to being a legend. In fact, he was very depressed after being afflicted by the Epstein-Barr virus.

The illness, which causes mononucleosis, interfered with his training and affected him until March.

“The whole spectre of post-viral syndrome was hanging over me,” Edwards said. “I felt low physically and mentally. All I wanted to do was re-establish myself this season.”

He has re-established himself with amazing authority.

But coming into the champion ships, he didn’t know what to expect.

“I didn’t think I could do it,” he said Monday. “I’ve been petrified for the last three days. I’ve had such a good season, but suddenly it could all go wrong. Someone could come out and do a really long jump.”

Nothing went wrong and no one was jumping longer than Edwards.

“There are no words to describe this season,” he said after setting the meet’s first world record on the third day of the championships. “The secret of my records? Keeping the speed down the runups and takeoffs.

“To achieve an 18-meter (59-0-3/4) jump on my first try was, of course, a surprise to me. It helped me to be relaxed.”

Edwards, a religious man, missed the 1991 World Championships because he would not jump on a Sunday. Two years later, he relaxed his rule and won the bronze medal at the 1993 championships.

In the past, Edwards thought he should be doing something more important than triple jumping.

“Sometimes I lie in bed at night and think: ‘I jump into a sandpit for a living,” he said. “‘Am I doing anything worthwhile?’ The pointlessness of it. You see doctors in Rwanda and think: ‘They are making a difference, but I am jumping into a sandpit.’ Who benefits from that?”

While Edwards celebrated, Olym pic and defending world champion Mike Conley struggled. He finished seventh with a wind-aided 55-7-3/4.

Conley, an assistant coach at Arkansas, watched two of his pupils, Brian Wellman of Bermuda and Jerome Romain of Dominica, get the silver and bronze medals. Wellman went a wind-aided 57-9-3/4 and Romain a wind-aided 57-8-1/2.

Americans Gwen Torrence won the women’s 100 meters in 10.85 seconds and Dan O’Brien captured a third straight world title in the decathlon with 8,695 points, the year’s best score. (See page C1 for story.)

Torrence, the Olympic 200 champion and winner of four medals at the 1993 World Championships - a gold in the 1,600 relay, silvers in the 200 and 400 relay and a bronze in the 100 - ran a sparkling 10.85 seconds.

“The 100 is every sprinter’s race,” said Torrence, who will compete in all four events again this time. “We all want to be the world’s fastest woman. It’s the glory event. As a sprinter, you want that title. I got it and I’m very pleased.”

In winning, Torrence beat a glorious field. Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey was second at 10.94 and Russia’s Irina Privalova third at 10.96. Ottey’s silver was her 11th medal since the championships began in 1983 and made her the biggest medalist ever, one ahead of Carl Lewis.

“You have to raise yourself to another level when you’re racing Irina and Ottey,” Torrence said.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WORLDS GLANCE A glance at Monday, the fourth day of the World Championships at Ullevi Stadium: Winners: Dan O’Brien won his third straight world decathlon championship with 8,695 points. Britain’s Jonathan Edwards twice broke his world record in the triple jump to gain the title there with a best of 60 feet, 1/4 inch. Gwen Torrence of the U.S. won the gold in the women’s 100 meters in 10.85 seconds and 18-year-old Irina Stankina of Russia captured the women’s 10K walk in a meet-record 42 minutes, 13 seconds. Losers: Merlene Ottey of Jamaica was second in the 100 behind Torrence. It was her 11th medal in the World Championships, but only two have been gold. Look ahead: Finals today are the men’s high jump, 800 meters and 10,000 and women’s javelin and 400.