Olympic Games TV moments worth remembering

There had been predictions of either possible records or possible physical disasters, depending on how athletes reacted to the altitude in Mexico City. The long jump was one of the few events ABC would show live, a risky venture given the still-shaky nature of satellite connections. The network need not have worried. Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters, which broke the existing record by more than a half-meter. "Records were usually broken by inches or tenths of a second," said McManus. "This was outrageous." The shot of Beamon after the jump, holding his face and shaking and crying for joy gave ABC instant credibility as an Olympic telecaster.