What NCAA track event did Jackie Robinson win in 1940?

Jackie Robinson won the long jump at the 1940 NCAA track and field championships.

Robinson was already an exceptional all-around athlete before baseball made him famous. At UCLA, he earned varsity letters in baseball, basketball, football, and track, becoming the school’s first athlete to do so. Track and field was one of the sports in which he reached national collegiate competition.

At the 1940 NCAA championships, Robinson won the long jump for UCLA with a mark listed at about 24 feet 10 inches, or 7.57 meters. The event was contested before the modern metric naming conventions and equipment standards used in today’s competitions.

The achievement is sometimes overshadowed by his football career. Robinson led the NCAA in punt-return average in both 1939 and 1940, and UCLA’s football team included future NFL stars Kenny Washington and Woody Strode. His athletic versatility later influenced Branch Rickey’s decision to view him as a uniquely disciplined candidate for baseball’s integration challenge.