Did you know that…

 frog jumping competitions all started in 1867 with Mark Twain’s story, The celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County. Now every May, Calaveras County hosts the Jumping Frog Jubilee complete with food stalls, brass bands, beauty contests, and of course… a frog jumping competition. Athletes compete under very strict rules and the winner is the one who covers the longest distance in three consequetive jumps.

The current (American) record is 6.6 metres, set in 1986 by a 16 cm American bullfrog, called “Rosie the Ribiter” and the Americans, typically, call it a “world” record. However, the real world record of 10.3 m for a frog jump, as listed in the Guiness Book of Records, has been awarded to none other than the 5 cm long South African sharp-nosed grass frog!

 At a charity event in Cape Town in 1953, the famous herpetologist, Dr Walter Rose (did you know he is Guy Palmer’s grandfather!!) entered an athlete (sharp-nosed grass frog) which promptly outclassed the local Cape river frogs and cleared 9.9 m (truly a world-class act!). Two years later, a sharp-nosed grass frog was sent to America to compete in the Jumping Frog Jubilee and the Americans scorned and laughed at this puny little 5 cm South African athlete who clearly, according to them, didn’t have what it took to beat the rest of the field. Unfortunately, the SA athlete was so taken by the moment that it sat motionless for the allotted 30 seconds in which it had to jump, and was disqualified, but then jumped – unofficially! Its first jumpt took it 4.2 m and the second took it way into the crowds and beyond! The Americans then quickly changed the rules of the Jubilee to say that no frog less than 4 inches may compete, and the SA sharp-nosed grass frog never exceeds 2.5 inches.

 In the mean time, in the small town of Paulpietersburg at the Maroela Spa, the real records were being broken and it was on 21 May 1977 where athletic history was made by Mr Piem Fourie’s “Santjie”, the sharp-nosed grass frog, which set the standing world record of 10.3 m!!

 Now if only our Olympians could go and learn from the frog… (at least long jumper Makoena brought back silver! – how ironic perhaps).