Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #79 - Kenny Harrison

Kenny Harrison

USA

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#26 among American Olympians

#21 among Track & Field Athletes

#18 among Male American Olympians

#16 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#13 among American Male Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

1996

Triple Jump - Gold

Total

Events - 1

Gold - 1

Kerry Lorenzo Harrison, who goes by Kenny, was born on February 13, 1965 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was a track star in high school, before going south to Kansas State University, where he won 3 NCAA titles, one in long jump and two in triple jump.

He won the 1991 World Championship in the triple jump, and was preparing to participate in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona when he suffered a knee injury that required surgery. After rehabbing from surgery, he began competing in preparation for the 1996 Olympics, and he spent the three years leading up to the games ranked #2 in the world.

He was healthy when the 1996 Olympics came around, and was expected to compete with Jonathan Edwards of Great Britain, the world record holder who was ranked #1 in the world. In the preliminary round, he 17.58 meters on his first jump, which was 0.38 meters better than the second-best, by defending champion Mike Conley (father of the basketball player). 

In the final round, where there were 12 jumpers, Harrison jumped 17.99 on his first jump, which would have been enough to win on its own, but on his third jump, he set a new Olympic record of 18.09 meters, while Edwards only managed a best jump of 17.88, giving Harrison the upset gold. At the time, it was the second-longest jump in history, and today, it still ranks #5. It was also the longest jump ever into a headwind until 2024, when Jordan Diaz of Spain jumped 18.18.

He competed for a couple more years, but decided to retire in 1998. His gold medal jump in 1996 is still the Olympic record 30 years later, and it's bigger because he beat the world record holder head to head to accomplish it, making him one of the greatest Olympians of all time, with only one event to his name.