Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou wins long jump gold with final leap
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BUDAPEST – Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou was involved in yet another last-round drama as he won long jump gold at the World Championships on Thursday, when his final leap of 8.52 metres edged him ahead of Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock by 2cm.
The Greek is no stranger to such things, having won Tokyo 2020 gold with his final jump after being out of the medals after five rounds.
It went the other way in Eugene in 2022 when he was leading after five, only for Wang Jianan of China to come from nowhere, take gold and demote him to silver.
Tentoglou got Thursday’s final off to a flier, as he produced a huge season’s best of 8.50m with his opening jump, only for Pinnock to match it in the second round.
It seemed like he would lose out again but he hit the board perfectly in the final round to soar ahead and Pinnock was unable to improve on his final attempt.
“This competition may have been the toughest I have taken part in,” Tentoglou said. “Last year it was a bad competition for me but this year I had no excuses.
“But I was not comfortable. After my third jump I started to feel my legs cramping. That’s why it took so long to get the big jump. I had to test my legs to see that I was fine and then I went for it in the final jump after having felt no pain.”
Pinnock was stunned by the turnaround but soon found the positives. “When he pulled that off I couldn’t believe it but then I could, of course, I know what he’s capable of,” he said.
“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. Watching people like Tentoglou gave me the motivation to reach the top. And now I’m there, nearly there.”
Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle snatched bronze with his final leap of 8.27m, matching compatriot Carey McLeod but edging him out on countback.
McLeod was lucky to escape injury after slipping on take-off on his third jump, spiralling spectacularly into the air and landing face-first in the pit.
In the women’s hammer, Camryn Rogers secured a double gold for Canada after Ethan Katzberg had claimed a surprise men’s title at the weekend.
Rogers, who took silver in Eugene, went one better on a hot and humid night with a throw of 77.22m. Americans won silver and bronze with Janee Kassanavoid throwing 76.36m and DeAnna Price 75.41m. REUTERS
