Aug. 3, 2021, 3:22 p.m.

(ABC News) Every Olympic athlete who soars to the heavens as part of the “Faster, Higher, Stronger — Together” ideal eventually comes down. A soft and sandy landing pit awaits the long jumpers and triple jumpers at the Olympic Stadium at the Tokyo Games. And it’s always a moment of uncertainty — “How far did I go?” — as the jumpers stretch, contort and grimace while reaching for that extra centimeter in a gritty quest for a medal, or even an Olympic or world record. These Associated Press photos capture the tension of the moment as the athletes return to Earth in a spray of sand that can leave them half buried. The overhead photographs were taken with a robotic camera that uses remote viewing monitors and a joystick similar to a video game. The head-on shots were taken by AP photographers using hand-held cameras. ——— More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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