Having dominated the continental scene for the last four seasons, Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou struck Olympic long jump gold in an incident-filled sixth round on the fourth morning session of the athletics programme in Tokyo.
Tentoglou was out of medal contention when he stepped on the runway for the sixth time but the Greek coolly roused himself to one brilliant final effort, landing in the sand at 8.41m to equal the lead held by Cuba’s world indoor champion Juan Miguel Echevarria in the third round.
After a tantalisingly close men’s high jump final last night, the long jump final was ultimately decided on which of the two jumpers had the better second attempt. That distinction belonged to Tentoglou whose fifth round jump of 8.15m trumped Echavarria’s corresponding second best mark of 8.09m.
Echevarria had the chance of a riposte but in a competition which saw many of the leading protagonists, including reigning world champion Tajay Gayle and Echevarria’s teammate and eventual bronze medallist Maykel Masso, struggle with injury, Echevarria himself pulled up lame before the take-off board and was unable to register a valid jump.
The ending might have been anticlimactic and the celebrations muted - it didn’t seem clear if Tentoglou realised he had won the gold medal - but this victory confirms the Greek’s reputation as the athlete for the big occasion.
Only 23, Tentoglou, who is nicknamed 'Bounce' due to his fondness of parkour, adds the Olympic title to his European outdoor gold medal from Berlin 2018 and his pair of European indoor titles. The Greek has also served his apprenticeship at age-group level, collecting gold medals at both the European U20 and U23 Championships.
"What an incredible competition. What an incredible jump, the last jump. I wasn't able to get it right at the start. But in the end I managed to pull something out to get the medal. I always have something left, something in reserve," Tentoglou told reporters after the competition.
Echevarria’s teammate Masso won bronze with 8.21m while Spain’s Eusebio Caceres had to settle for fourth. He briefly occupied the bronze medal position with a season’s best of 8.18m in the sixth round before Tentoglou uncorked his winning jump of 8.41m.
But what might have been for Sweden’s Thobias Montler in the sixth round. The European indoor silver medallist landed right on the superimposed gold medal line graphic to denote the lead but he encroached on the plasticene by 1.4 centimetres so his effort was not registered.