March 02, (THEWILL) – Greek long jumper, Miltiadis Tentoglou, has threatened to leave the event if World Athletics implements a proposed rule change aimed at eliminating foul jumps. The reigning Olympic and world outdoor champion made the statement shortly after winning the world indoor title in Glasgow on Saturday, where he tied with Italian Mattia Furlani, at 8.22 metres, but took gold on the tiebreak due to his longer second-best jump.
The proposed amendment by World Athletics involves introducing a take-off zone where jumps would be measured from an athlete’s take-off to landing position, effectively getting rid of foul jumps to make the event more appealing to fans. Tentoglou, however, strongly opposes the change, stating: “I consider long jump to be one of the hardest events because of the board and the accuracy you need. You need to run like a sprinter, to hit the board perfectly – this is the difficult part of the long jump. The jump itself is easy. The hard part is the run-up.”
The Greek athlete emphasised that if the rule change is implemented, he believes the long jump would become the easiest event, and he would no longer participate in it. “If that happens, I will not do long jump anymore. I will be a triple jumper,” Tentoglou declared.
The silver medallist, 19-year-old Furlani, who won his first global medal in Glasgow, would have likely taken gold under the proposed rule amendment. On his sixth and final attempt, Furlani flew to what appeared to be the winning jump, but it was ruled a foul as he stepped past the take-off board. Despite the setback, the Italian remained positive, saying, “Wow, what a great day. I am so excited because it is the first step for me on the world stage. I have got time now (in my career) to improve my speed and my power. But I am so excited to have done this.”
Carey McLeod of Jamaica won bronze in Glasgow with a jump of 8.21 metres. The proposed rule change comes after a third of all jumps at the 2023 World Outdoor Championships were no-jumps, prompting World Athletics to explore ways to modify the rules.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
