Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968.

[2] When Beamon was eight months old, his mother died from tuberculosis, and, as a result of his stepfather's incarceration, he was placed into the care of his maternal grandmother, Bessie.

[vague] Beamon began his college career at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to be close to his ill grandmother.

With only one chance left, Beamon re-measured his approach run from a spot in front of the board and made a fair jump that advanced him to the final.

There, he faced the two previous gold-medal winners, fellow American Ralph Boston (1960) and Lynn Davies of Great Britain (1964), and twice bronze medallist Igor Ter-Ovanesyan of the Soviet Union.

[12] When his teammate and coach Ralph Boston told him that he had broken the world record by nearly two feet, his legs gave way and an astonished and overwhelmed Beamon suffered a brief cataplexy attack brought on by the emotional shock,[13] and collapsed to his knees, his body unable to support itself, placing his hands over his face.

[14] The defending Olympic champion Lynn Davies told Beamon, "You have destroyed this event", and in sports jargon, a new adjective—Beamonesque—came into use to describe spectacular feats.