Bob Beamon Walks on Air at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics

Without a doubt, the single greatest individual Olympic performance belongs to long jumper Bob Beamon. During the 1968 Mexico City Games, Beamon loped down a runway and leapt into immortality with an astounding jump of 29 feet, 2 1/2 inches to obliterate the world record by nearly two feet. No one else in the competition even inched closer to the old world record. Finally eclipsed in 1991, Beamon's amazing leap still stands as an Olympic record 44 years later.