THE NO. 1 LJ World Ranker for 4 straight years 2021–25, Miltiádis Tentóglou took his ‘26 outdoor win-loss record to 14-2 and almost certainly sealed a return to the top with his winning leap of 27-4¾ (8.35) in the second round.
However, the 2-time ‘OG champion only took the honors by a very fine margin. The destination of the Ultimate trophy and the $150,000 was eventually decided by a single centimeter.
Tentóglou, the first to jump, opened with a solid 26-9¼ (8.16) with Bulgaria’s Bozhidar Sarâboyukov the only other man over 8 meters in the first stanza at 26-6½ (8.09).
The Greek, who won his only outdoor world title to date in the same stadium 3 years ago, then threw down the gauntlet with an impressive second effort of 27-4¾, which stood up to be the best distance of the night.
Following the first reshuffle, which came after two rounds under Ultimate rules, Tentóglou added a good backup effort of 27-1¾ (8.27) before Sarâboyukov immediately sped down the runway and improved to 26-9¾ (8.17).
Acknowledging the possible threat from the gangly Bulgarian, Tentóglou put everything into his last competitive jump of the year. His motivation was solid, as Sarâboyukov has jumped 27-10¼ (8.49) this year and beat his rival to the Balkan and European indoor titles in the winter before Tentóglou was fully back to form after a ‘25 outdoor season punctuated with ankle issues.
Tentóglou’s closer in the abbreviated 4-round format was also intrinsically the best jump of the competition, just fractionally shy of 28-foot with the naked eye. But the red flag was quickly raised and TV replays showed the Greek had fouled by 4½ centimeters.
It was then the turn of Sarâboyukov. With nothing to lose and a clear target, he produced what was definitely his best jump of the night.
Both men had a few agonizing moments before the distance of 27-4½ (8.34) flashed on the scoreboard to confirm Tentóglou had won.
With a $75,000 difference between 1st and 2nd, compared to just $35,000 at the World Champs, it could be viewed as the most expensive centimeter ever seen in track.
Nevertheless, Tentóglou seemed to have mixed feelings about the biggest pay day of his life and the dramatic conclusion to the contest.
“I always say that jumping far is more important to me than winning,” he said, “but tonight I was happy to add another global title to my collection.
“I was hoping to jump further tonight, but I’m happy that I still had my best season ever; I had so many jumps over 8.40m and 8.50m, and I improved my PB to 8.66m [28-5, at the Greek Champs in July].”
Further down the standings, Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer finished 3rd with his second-round 26-5¾ (8.07), his only valid jump.
Critics of the truncated Ultimate format for the horizontal jumps and throws will also use this contest as evidence in their argument.
Only the top 3 went over 8 meters. Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle— a DL winner in Brussels the week before with 27-8¼ (8.44) on his sixth jump — went no farther than 25-11 (7.90) and failed to make the cut for the final 4 who would take a fourth jump.
UC MEN’S LONG JUMP RESULTS
(September 12)
1. Miltiádis Tentóglou (Gre) 27-4¾ (8.35)
(26-9¼, 27-4¾, 27-1¾, f) (8.16, 8.35, 8.27, f)
2. Bozhidar Sarâboyukov (Bul) 27-4½ (8.34)
(26-6½, 26-0, 26-9¾, 27-4½) (8.09, 7.92, 8.17, 8.34)
3. Simon Ehammer (Swi) 26-5¾ (8.07)
(f, 26-5¾, f, f) (f, 8.07, f, f)
4. Anvar Anvarov (Uzb) 26-¾ (7.94)
(24-5, 26-¾, 25-2, f) (7.44, 7.94, 7.67, f)
5. Tajay Gayle (Jam) 25-11 (7.90)
6. Gerson Baldé (Por) 25-9¼ (7.85)
7. Mingkun Zhang (Chn) 25-2 (7.67)
8. Luka Bošković (Ser) 25-1¾ (7.66).
