Budapest: Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou clinched the men’s long jump title with a tremendous last jump at the World Athletics Championships here.
Heading into the sixth and last attempt, Tentoglou and Jamaica’s Pinnock had both jumped an impressive 8.50m. However, the Greek athlete’s second-best result was just 1cm behind Pinnock’s 8.40m, placing him in second position.
Tentoglou, coming in second in the previous year’s World Championships, delivered his final jump with unwavering determination, achieving a season-best of 8.52m, out of Pinnock’s reach.
“The only gold medal I missed is now mine,” Tentoglou remarked. “It was a great competition, a great battle, better than last year. Now I’m going to defend all my titles.”
Last year’s defending champion, Wang Jianan, who narrowly defeated Tentoglou with his final jump, had an off day on Thursday. The 26-year-old Chinese athlete managed only a sixth-place finish with 8.05m.
“I felt exhausted after yesterday’s qualification,” Wang revealed, having achieved his season’s best of 8.34m previously. “My muscles are quite tight today. I was worried about injury, so I didn’t give it my all in the final.”
The 2019 world champion, Jamaican Tajay Gayle, secured third place with 8.27m.
In the women’s hammer throw, Canadian Camryn Rogers dominated from the start, sealing the top position with an initial throw of 77.22m. Americans Janee’ Kassanavoid and DeAnna Price trailed with results of 76.36m and 75.41m, respectively.
China’s Olympic silver medalist, Wang Zheng, struggled in her last four throws and ended in eighth place with 72.14m.
Both the men’s 400m and the women’s 100m hurdles saw Jamaican athletes taking the lead. Debutant Antonio Watson clinched the gold in the 400m with a time of 44.22 seconds, and 30-year-old Danielle Williams reclaimed her world title in the 100m hurdles, finishing in 12.43 seconds after an eight-year hiatus.
Additionally, Femke Bol won the Netherlands their first gold in this championship, clocking 51.70 seconds in the women’s 400m hurdles.
Earlier, Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez both triumphed in the 35km race walking events, adding to their 20km victories and ensuring Spain clinched all four race walking titles in Budapest.
