Miltiadis Tentoglou wins the long jump at the World Indoor Championships Glasgow 24 (© Getty Images)
The outcome may not have been entirely unexpected, with Miltiadis Tentoglou successfully defending his title, but the men’s long jump at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24 was a perfect example of why every jump counts.
World and Olympic champion Tentoglou won his fourth global title, adding to an impressive medal collection that includes seven continental titles plus a world silver medal.
Tentoglou, who won European indoor gold in this same arena back in 2019, opened his account with an 8.22m leap. Just moments later, rising Italian Mattia Furlani matched that mark, giving him a share of the lead.
No one else jumped beyond eight metres in the first round, but Germany’s Simon Batz got close with 7.97m.
Neither Tentoglou nor Furlani improved on their opening jump, which meant the rest of the final became a contest to see who could produce the best supporting leap to improve their countback records.
Tentoglou got the edge in round two, jumping 7.94m to Furlani’s 7.91m. Neither improved in round three. With the jumping order updated in round four, Furlani took the penultimate leap in that round and sailed out to 8.10m to move into the lead. But Tentoglou – as he often does – responded with a superior mark, jumping 8.15m to regain pole position.
They weren’t the only athletes to break eight metres in round three. USA’s 2017 world silver medallist Jarrion Lawson moved into third place with a season’s best of 8.06m.
The lead duo jumped beyond eight metres again in round five, but it didn’t improve either of their standings, Tentoglou jumping 8.11m to Furlani’s 8.04m. They were both almost bumped out of the lead, though, with Jamaica’s Carey McLeod landing a big jump in that round. It was measured at 8.21m to put him in the bronze medal position.
In the final round, Batz joined the eight-metre crew with an 8.06m leap to move into fourth, bumping Lawson down a place. McLeod concluded his series with 8.03m, ending with the bronze – an improvement of one place on his position from last year’s World Championships in Budapest.
Soon after, 19-year-old Furlani – who set a European U20 indoor record of 8.34m earlier this year – stepped on the runway for his final attempt. He sailed out to a jump that looked to be beyond 8.60m, but sadly for the young Italian, he was 14.2cm over the take-off line, making it a foul.
It meant Tentoglou – who ended his series with a solid 8.19m – was confirmed the winner, earning his 11th major championship gold in the past seven years. With just one centimetre separating the three medallists, it matched the 2012 edition for the closest ever World Indoor Championships long jump final.
Tentoglou was philosophical about his victory. “I jumped terrible,” he said. “It was very close, but I was lucky to win – I am just a lucky guy. It was exciting at the end. This track is one of my favourites and it feels similar to Budapest.”
Furlani was delighted to earn his first senior global medal while still in the U20 ranks. At 19 years and 24 days, he becomes the youngest athlete ever to win a world indoor medal in the horizontal jumps.
“What a great day – I have been dreaming about this medal for weeks and I want to thank everybody who has worked with me," he said. "This is the beginning of a long journey.”
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
| MEN'S LONG JUMP MEDALLISTS | ||
| 🥇 | Miltiadis Tentoglou 🇬🇷 GRE | 8.22m |
| 🥈 | Mattia Furlani 🇮🇹 ITA | 8.22m |
| 🥉 | Carey McLeod 🇯🇲 JAM | 8.21m |
| Full results | ||
