Greece’s Olympic champion, Miltiadis Tentoglou, became the first man to secure a third consecutive long jump title at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul on Sunday.
Tentoglou also won this title in 2019 and 2021 and is the reigning Olympic, European and world indoor champion.
This year in Istanbul, the Greek champion won with a first-round effort of 8.30 metres that proved too hard to match for his rivals.
Sweden’s Thobias Montler was the man who came closest to challenging Tentoglou as he recorded 8.19 metres. Bronze went to Romania’s Gabriel Bitan with 8.00 metres.
After his victory, Tentoglou thanked Greeks for their continued support, but also acknowledged that his joy was tempered by the recent deadly train crash in Greece which claimed the lives of at least 57 people.
“I do not know where I should dedicate this victory,” Tentoglou said, before adding that pulling off a historic hat-trick was “important” for him.
“I am glad I achieved this… Now it is time to look forward to the world championships and I want to try to win gold of course.”
Source: European Athletics.
