Olympic gold medallist and Van Mildert alumnus, Jonathan Edwards (Physics, Van Mildert College,1984-87) has celebrated 30 years of his 1995 triple jump world record, which remains unbroken.
The record-breaking jump took place in the World Championships in Gothenburg on 7 August 1995. Jonathan jumped an impressive 18.29 metres.
He is one of only seven men in history to have surpassed 18 metres.
His world record was followed by two Olympic medals. He won silver in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and gold at the Millenium Olympics in Sydney.
Jonathan maintains close ties with the University and Van Mildert College.
He returned the University to receive an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law in 2009.
More recently, he joined fellow alumni at a Gala Reunion Weekend celebrating Van Mildert College's 60th Anniversary.
As guest speaker at the formal dinner, his reflections touched on sport, community, legacy and the changing landscape of university life.
It was a delight to be back at Van Mildert and find it comfortingly familiar. It was also much more emotional than I anticipated and a lovely reminder of what a special three years I enjoyed there.
Jonathan joined more than 320 alumni from graduating years 1968 to 2024 to mark 60 years since the College was founded - he has been a World Record holder for half of that time!
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