Miltiadis Tentoglou Clinches Long Jump Gold at World Athletics Championships in Budapest
Budapest, August 23 – Just as he had done when winning the Olympic title two years ago, Greek jumper Miltiadis Tentoglou produced the best leap of the night in the final round to claim the long jump title at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
The 25-year-old Tentoglou, already a five-time champion at the continental level with two outdoor European titles and three indoor crowns, added the world outdoor gold to his impressive resume, which now includes the Olympic champion and world indoor champion accolades. With this latest victory, he has completed his set of global honors, amassing an impressive eight major titles.
The competition was a closely contested affair, with Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock leading the qualifying round with a world-leading personal best of 8.54m. Tentoglou started well, leaping 8.50m to take an early advantage, but Pinnock responded quickly with an opening effort of 8.40m. Defending champion Wang Jianan also made a solid start, jumping 8.05m, but was soon bumped out of the top three by Pinnock’s Jamaican teammates Tajay Gayle (8.17m) and Carey McLeod (8.27m) in the second round.
Tentoglou recorded a foul in the second round, but Pinnock’s 8.50m leap put him in the lead on countback. The Greek jumper then posted an 8.39m effort in the third round, but it still wasn’t enough to overtake Pinnock on countback. However, everything changed in the final round, as Gayle improved to a season’s best of 8.27m, moving ahead of McLeod into the bronze medal position.
Tentoglou was the next to jump, and he nailed his attempt, soaring out to a season-best of 8.52m to claim the gold medal, just two centimeters ahead of Pinnock. It was Tentoglou’s joint third-best mark of his career, equal with his winning performance at last year’s European Championships.
Pinnock had one final attempt to respond, but his jump of 8.38m was not enough to dethrone the Greek champion, who was overjoyed to have completed his set of global honors.
“The only gold medal I was missing is now mine,” said Tentoglou. “I stayed calm after my first attempt of 8.50m. I was sure that Pinnock had a lot to add. He is very strong and will give much more next year.”
Pinnock, the 2022 NCAA champion, was gracious in defeat, saying, “When he pulled that off, I couldn’t believe it. But then I could, of course – I know what he’s capable of. I just knew he had it, but I just didn’t know he would do it, that he would pull it off at that moment. But this is still a silver medal. It’s really a dream come true.”
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