The women’s world record in the long jump is one of the oldest in athletics, set by Galina Chistyakova of the former Soviet Union who leaped 7.52m in Leningrad on June 11, 1988, a mark that has now stood for over 36 years.
Last years, no female long jumper was even close to reaching the top result of Galina Chistyakova, as only in 2019, the German athlete Malaika Mihambo reached the 12th all-time best result of 7.30m.
Maybe this can change at the coming Paris Olympics.
Here is the list of all-time best women’s long jumps and watch the video in the bottom:
No 1 – Galina Chistyakova (USSR) – 7.52m
Galina Chistyakova is a retired athlete who represented the Soviet Union and later Slovakia. She is the current world record holder in the long jump, jumping 7.52m on June 11, 1988, at the final of the Leningrad Znamenskiy Memorial to win the competition. Interestingly she jumped the remarkable 7.45m at the qualification at the same event and improved her achieved at the final.
Her world record has already been unbeaten for more than 36 years.
Galina Chistyakova is the Seoul Olympics bronze medalist in 1988 and the Budapest World Indoor champion in 1989, as well as a three-time European Indoor champion ay Athens in 1985, The Hague in 1989, and Glasgow in 1990, where also won the gold in the triple jump.
No 2 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) – 7.49m
Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee, better known as Jackie Joyner-Kersee, is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greats in the heptathlon as well as the long jump. She is a three-time Olympics champion, once in the long jump, as well as a four-time World Champion, twice in the long jump.
She is one of the Greatest Female Athlete of All-Time. Her personal best in the long jump is 7.49m, achieved on July 31, 1994, at the Sestriere Meeting. She won the competition and set the US national record in the long jump, as well as the second-best female long jump all-time as of today.
No 3 – Heike Drechsler (Germany) – 7.48m
Heike Drechsler is a German former track and field athlete who represented East Germany and later Germany. One of the most successful long jumpers of all-time, she ranks third on the all-time list with her personal best of 7.48m, achieved at the Neubrandenburg Meeting.
Her marginally wind-assisted jump of 7.63m (+2.1) in 1992 at altitude in Sestriere, is still the furthest a woman has ever long jumped. She is the only woman who has won two Olympic gold medals in the long jump, triumphing at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Heike Drechsler also won the long jump gold at the Helsinki World Championships in 1983 and Stuttgart World Championships in 1993, as well as at the Indianapolis World Indoor Championships in 1987.
No 4 – Anisoara Cusmir (Romania) – 7.43m
Anisoara Cusmir is a retired Romanian long jumper. She was considered the best Romanian female athlete all the time. Anisoara Cusmir was the Los Angeles Olympics champion in 1984 in the long jump, as well as the Helsinki World Championships silver medalist in 1983.
Between 1982 and 1983 Anisoara Cusmir improved the world record four times. Her personal best is 7.43m, achieved on June 4, 1983, at the Bucuresti Athletics Meeting. This was the world record at that time and the fourth result on the world all-time list and Romanian national record as of today.
She retired after the 1984 Olympics and started coaching Romanian athletes. In May 2021, Anisoara Cusmir was elected as President of the Romanian Athletics Federation.
No 5 – Tatiana Kotova (Russia) – 7.42m
Tatyana Kotova is a track and field athlete who competed for Russia in the long jump. Her personal best jump of 7.42m at the Annecy SPAR European Cup in 2002, is the best achievement by a female long jumper in the 21st century as of today.
Tatyana Kotova is one of the best female long jumpers in the 2000s, being a two-time World Indoor champion, twice Olympic Games Bronze medalist, and a World Championships Silver medalist. She won the bronze medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and Athens Olympics in 2004, as well as the silver at the Edmonton World Championships in 2001 and Paris World Championships in 2003, as well as the bronze at the Osaka World Championships in 2007. Moreover, Tatyana Kotova is the Maebashi World Indoor Champion in 1999 and Birmingham World Indoor Champion in 2003, as well as the Munich European Champion in 2002.
No 6 – Yelena Belevskaya (USSR) – 7.39m
Yelena Belevskaya is a former long jumper who competed for the Soviet Union until 1991 and then Belarus. She was the Rome World Championship silver medalist in 1987 and Indianapolis World Indoor Championships in 1987, as well as finished fourth at the Seoul 1988 Olympics.
Yelena Belevskaya has a personal best in the long jump of 7.39m, achieved on July 18, 1987, successfully defending her Soviet title at the Bryansk Meeting. This long jump ranks her sixth on the world all-time list as of today.
No 7 – Inesa Kravets (Ukraine) – 7.37m
Inesa Kravets is a Ukrainian former triple jumper and long jumper. She was among the most prominent female athletes in the early 1990s. In the long jump, she debuted internationally at the 1988 Olympics, finishing 10th in the long jump, and then won a long jump silver medal at the 1992 Olympics. She also won the long jump gold at the 1990 Goodwill Games, the 1991 Universiade, and the 1994 London IAAF World Cup, as well as the silver at the Birmingham World Indoor Championships in 2003 and the Helsinki European Championships in 1994.
On June 13, 1992, Inesa Kravets jumped her personal best of 7.37m at the Kiev Athletics Meeting, which is a Ukrainian national record and 7th in the all-time performers’ list as of today.
No 8 – Tatyana Lebedeva (Russia) – 7.33m
Tatyana Lebedeva was the top female long and triple jumper of the world in the 2000s. She started out as a triple jumper but began competing in the long jump after giving birth to a daughter in 2002.
She is one of the most successful athletes in the discipline, having won gold medals at Olympic, World, and European Championships. In the long jump she won gold at the Athens Olympics in 2004, Osaka World Championships in 2007, and the Budapest World Indoor Championships in 2004.
She jumped her personal best of 7.33m at the Tula Russian Championships, winning her first long jump national title.
Video of the Top 7 all-time women’s high jumps:
