Ray Kimble

Ray Kimble is an American track and field athlete and former collegiate football player for Washington State University. His primary event is the triple jump. He is the current [Masters Masters M40 triple jump world record progression|M40 triple jump world record progression|M40] world record holder. His M45 best is 47 cm superior to the listed world record, but has never been ratified.

Personal life

Kimble grew up in California and he went to high school in Texarkana, Arkansas. He was a starting wide receiver and occasional defensive back at Washington State, graduating in 1976. There he used jumping on the track team as an excuse to avoid spring training with the football team. He retired from jumping after college and took a job teaching physical education at Barnard White Middle School in Union City, California. He returned to jumping in 1980.
More frustration, his personal best was a wind aided, which if it had been legal would still rank #33 on the world all time list. At the time it would have been in the all time top ten. His legal personal best was, +1.3 at the Modesto Relays and is #17 on the US all time list as of the end of 2017.

He finished in fourth place at both the Olympics and World Championships, as that was the place he finished twice at the U.S. Olympic Trials, 1984 and 1992. In the 1984 trials, he was beaten by the future gold medalist Al Joyner, silver medalist and 1992 gold medalist Mike Conley, Sr. and future world record holder Willie Banks, in 1992 it was Conley again and silver medalist Charles Simpkins. He also finished seventh in 1988.
Only the top three go to the Olympics. He suffered the same fate at the 1983 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the qualifier for the first World Championships in Athletics, beaten by the same three competitors as in 1984. He did represent the United States internationally at the 1991 Pan American Games, where he finished fourth. By that time he was already 38 years old. He continued jumping in top level competition against competitors young enough to be his children well into his 40s. Held Masters World Triple Jump Record M35 & M40.