Mattia Furlani at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25 (© Getty Images)
After four podium finishes on the global and European stage over the past year, Mattia Furlani landed global gold by winning the long jump in Nanjing with 8.30m.
The 20-year-old Italian sailed out to that mark in the second round and it stood up as the best jump of the day – but only just.
Jamaica's Wayne Pinnock finished second with a fourth-round leap of 8.29m while Australia's Liam Adcock, contesting his first-ever indoor competition, claimed bronze with 8.28m.
Despite being beaten at three World Indoor Tour meetings this year, Olympic gold medallist and defending world indoor champion Miltiadis Tentoglou arrived in Nanjing hoping to add to his incredible medal collection, having amassed 11 titles at world, Olympic and European level in the past seven years.
At the half-way point, however, he sat in 10th place with a best of 7.91m.
European indoor silver medallist Furlani fouled on his opening attempt, which appeared to be a substantial jump, while Olympic silver medallist Wayne Pinnock opened with 8.20m. That lead was short-lived as Adcock quickly surpassed him with a leap of 8.28m, moving to the top of the standings.
Furlani, the world leader, responded with 8.30m in round two to claim the top spot. Pinnock and Adcock both produced leaps of 8.28m in round two, with Adcock having the advantage on countback.
Tentoglou finally found his rhythm in the fourth round, sailing out to 8.14m to move into fifth place behind Japan’s Shunsuke Izumiya (8.21m).
Pinnock found an extra centimetre in the fourth round to leap 8.29m and move ahead of Adcock. Furlani didn’t improve for the rest of the competition, but he backed up his leading mark with yet another 8.28m jump in round four.
Furlani becomes the first Italian man to win the long jump at the World Indoor Championships. The Olympic bronze medallist is already setting his sights on another gold medal at the forthcoming World Championships in Tokyo.
“I'm so happy because this isn't a European medal, but it's a world medal,” said Furlani. “For me, it's amazing. Since last year, I've been trying to get this gold medal. Now I have it in my hands, it's a dream. Winning it is a big honour. Now I’ll allow my body to recover and then return to training to prepare for Tokyo. That's the big goal of the year.”
With his bronze medal, Oceania champion Adcock became the first Australian since Fabrice Lapierre in 2010 to win a long jump medal at the World Indoor Championships. The 28-year-old’s decision to continue his athletics career has clearly paid off.
“If you had told me last year that I’d win a medal here, I probably wouldn't believe it,” he said. “I was on my verge of retirement in November and decided I'd come back, and now coming into this one with good form. I think it's the first major I've been to without having like big injuries. It was good to get out here and compete to my capability. Obviously it was really close at the end, but I am super happy to get a medal.”
Yemi Galadima for World Athletics
| MEN'S LONG JUMP MEDALLISTS | ||
| 🥇 | Mattia Furlani (ITA) | 8.30m |
| 🥈 | Wayne Pinnock (JAM) | 8.29m SB |
| 🥉 | Liam Adcock (AUS) | 8.28m PB |
| Full results | ||
