13th October 2014

50 years ago on the 14 October, a twenty-two year old Welshman making his debut at an Olympic Games, stepped onto the runway at the Tokyo National Stadium against two of his heroes in the long jump, and exceeded all of his expectations to win the Olympic gold medal.
 
Lynn ‘the leap’ Davies enjoyed a stellar career in the long jump but his first Olympic gold medal in Toyko was a very special moment. He was the only British Olympic long jump gold medallist until Greg Rutherford won the title in 2012, 48 years after his triumph. He admits that it was quite a surprise to him that he won the gold in 1964 against the best long jumpers in the world.

“Remember, when I went to Tokyo, my aim was just to make the final and maybe, an outside chance of winning a bronze medal. I was up against the two world record holders at the time, Ralph Boston and Igor Ter-Ovanesyan – they had both jumped 8.35m and my best was 8.04m, so I knew it would take something unusual to beat them both in the final and it did!”

“Luckily on the day, we had some very typical Welsh weather – there was very heavy rain and gusting winds. They were cinder tracks then so there were pools of water all down the run way. In fact the American Ralph Boston had asked the judges if he could turn the runway around to jump the other way because the wind was so strong blowing into him. The judges refused and told him to run into the wind.”

However, all the athletes had to compete in the same conditions but it was having an effect on the whole field. Going into the fifth round, the leading jump was 7.88m, which was way down on the personal bests of those in the competition. Davies sensed an opportunity and grabbed it with both hands.

“I realised that I had an opportunity there to jump 8m plus, which I had done in wet and windy conditions before. In the fifth round I waited for the wind to subside and then I jumped. I knew it was a good one before I landed. I had jumped 8.07m which was a personal best for me and a British record at the time, and I took the lead by almost a foot.”

An agonising wait followed as he waited for his rivals to take their final jumps.

“He (Ter-Ovanesyan) stepped up and jumped 7.99m so that put him into silver medal position. The horrible thing then was the wait for Ralph Boston. He jumped and then it took a long, long time to measure. The scoreboard flashed up saying 8.03m and I had won by four centimeters.”

‘”t was an incredible feeling to have beaten two of my heroes to win the Olympic gold medal.”

The morning after his triumph, Davies was at breakfast with his coach, the late Ron Pickering, and was stunned as the legendary Jesse Owens, 1936 long jump champion, came to his table and congratulated him on his victory. He joined them for coffee for half an hour and Davies described it as a wonderful memory which he will treasure.

Davies’s gold was one of four won by the athletics team in Tokyo. It was the best return by the British team since the 1908 Games at the time and the athletes became household names.

“What you have got to remember is that we rarely won Olympic gold medals in athletics in the 1950s and early 1960s. We won one gold medal in 1956 and one in 1960, Chris Brasher and Don Thompson. Then suddenly in Tokyo, we won 12 medals overall which truly was astonishing.”

“We were all amateurs and had full-time jobs, and here we were taking on the professionals from the American scholarship programme, the Eastern Bloc and East Germany. We were the underdogs and didn’t have any great expectation on us.”

With the pressure off, the team delivered beyond expectations and set the bar for future Olympic Games. The thirty-four hour flight to Tokyo, including a seven hour layoff in the British Embassy in India sat by the pool, was all worth it as they established themselves in athletics folklore. Davies believes the legacy of that 1964 athletics team was evident in the following decades.

“The gold medals from myself, Ann Packer, Mary Rand and Ken Matthews showed that British athletes could win medals at an Olympic Games, regardless of your background. I think it gave coaches, clubs and everyone involved in athletics huge encouragement that now we had athletes taking on the very best in the world and we were winning. For the following years it set a standard for our athletes and coaches to follow.”

Davies speaks about the overwhelming support he received on his return to the UK including 500 telegrams and invites to athletics clubs and their dinners across the country. It was a life changing moment for the Welshman.

“The athletics community wanted to share that success – we were suddenly heroes. It was a great boost for our sport in this country.”

The athletics team won 12 out 18 medals overall at the Tokyo Games and the sport was enjoying a purple patch on the big stage. Davies is honoured to have been a part of the team and describes it as a huge learning experience which helped to shape his career.

“It is a very precious memory to have been part of the Olympic team in 1964. We had great celebrations when we returned and to be part of that adventure was just brilliant.”