Before Gale Sayers was an All-America running back at Kansas and an NFL Hall of Famer with the Bears, he was a Nebraska state high school record-holder in the boys long jump.
In fact, he still holds the state record–37 years later. He jumped 24 feet 10 1/2 inches on May 19, 1961.
“I’m truly amazed that this record still stands,” Sayers said Saturday at the state track and field meet, where organizers marked the event’s 100th year by gathering the all-class record-holders.
“Athletes today have better facilities and better technology, and they’re so much stronger. My record should have been broken a long time ago. I’m truly amazed,” said Sayers, now 55 and owner of a computer supply store in Chicago.
No other state record has lasted as long as Sayers’.
