Like many sponsors of the U.S. Olympic team, BMW does more than write checks. Which helps explain how a group of BMW engineers in California adapted vehicle sensors into a new system that could help U.S. Olympians win a sport they hadn't even placed in during the 2008 games -- the long jump.
Long jumps were part of the ancient Greek games and have been held in the modern games since they resumed in 1896. Yet while most Olympic and world track and field records fall every year, progress in the long jump has stopped. Only two long jump records have been set in the last 44 years, the most recent 21 years ago by Mike Powell of the United States, who jumped 29.4 feet at the 1991 World Championship games in Tokyo.
At the 2008 Beijing Games, Americans won no medals, and the best U.S. jump by Trevor Quinley of 25.82 feet wasn't enough to even make the final round.
A year ago, BMW signed on as the Official Mobility Partner of the United States Olympic Committee, and the USOC soon asked a
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