The competition exists out of two separate rounds. In the qualification, each competitor gets three attempts to jump as far as possible. After three attempts, the twelve best performance advance to the final, including athletes tied for twelfth place. In the final, the qualified athletes once again get three attempts, with the eight best-placed athletes after three attempts receiving an additional three attempts to jump as far as possible. The athlete with the furthest jump after six attempts in the final wins the event.
Preview[]
Thirty-eight athletes qualified for the event with the Americans as favorites for the event. Brittney Reese was the defending Olympic champion but her team mate and rival Tianna Bartoletta was the reigning world champion, while the third American in the field Janay Deloach won the bronze medal in 2012. Ivana Spanovic and 2013 world champion Shara Proctor seemed to be the biggest outsiders after taking medals in the Diamond League races as well as the world championships, but Christabel Nettey had also only recorded top 5 results when jumping against the European top athletes. Other potential outsiders for the medals included Lorraine Ugen, Malaika Mihambo, and Sosthene Moguenara.