At the world indoor athletics championships in Glasgow, Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece narrowly beat Italian teenager Mattia Furlani to claim the long jump gold medal. Tentoglou, who is 25 years old, is the current Olympic and world outdoor and indoor champion, adding yet another world title to his impressive record.
Both Tentoglou and Furlani jumped 8.22 meters on their first attempts. However, Tentoglou was awarded the victory based on his second-best effort being superior to Furlani’s. Carey McLeod of Jamaica secured the bronze medal with a jump of 8.21 meters.
Furlani, at just 19 years old, missed out on the gold medal due to a foul on his final jump. Despite appearing to have achieved the winning jump, he overstepped the take-off board, resulting in a red flag being raised.
World Athletics is considering implementing a new system to eliminate foul jumps in the future. This system would involve a designated take-off zone, with jumps being measured from the athlete’s take-off to landing position.
In light of the high number of foul jumps at the 2023 world outdoor championships, which accounted for one-third of all jumps, World Athletics believes that these proposed rules would enhance the appeal of the event for fans.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)
