Tentoglou lights up Stadio Olimpico with brilliant long jump series

Greek athlete soars to European Championship record of 8.65m as Jacob Fincham-Dukes finishes fourth and GB team-mate Scott Lincoln is also just outside the medals in the shot

Jacob Fincham-Dukes’ quest to make the long jump podium in Rome following his heartbreak of Munich 2022 was thwarted as he finished fourth. Ultimately, though, he was proud to be part of a brilliantly high-quality competition led by Miltiadis Tentoglou’s championship record of 8.65m (-0.3).

Runner-up Mattia Furlani, roared on by his home Italian crowd, set a world under-20 record of 8.38m (-0.5) with Simon Ehammer of Switzerland soaring out to 8.31m (-0.5) to earn bronze.

Fincham-Dukes jumped 8.12m (0.3) in the first round and 8.00m (-1.0) in the second but didn’t improve as he finished just outside the medals. Two years ago, of course, he thought he’d won silver but was denied a medal after a French protest led to his mark being belatedly judged a foul. “I was robbed,” he said at the time, as he had to settle for fifth place.

At a time in the sport’s history where long jump regulations are being experimented with, this European final was further proof for traditionalists that nothing needs to be tweaked.

A riveting contest came to life right from the first round as Furlani jumped his world under-20 record and Tentoglou went even further with 8.42m (-0.2). The Greek’s series thereafter was incredible as he fouled the second jump but then jumped 8.49m (-0.1), 8.45m (-0.1), 8.65m (-0.3) and then another 8.65m (-0.3) – not only a championship record but a PB and world lead for the 26-year-old Olympic and world champion.

“I managed the PB – twice the same mark,” said Tentoglou. “I do not know, this is impossible – only me can do it.

“I wanted to do 1cm more to improve our national record (Louis Tsatoumas’ 8.66m from 2007) but it just did not happen. My coach told me after the first 8.65m that I should push myself even more because I could do it. I told him, that I did five jumps around 8.50m all of them and I felt tired.

“I am dead, I gave my everything. And he said, ‘come on, you can do it!’ And I did it – I tried but I was very tired.”

Fincham-Dukes, who is from Harrogate but based in Texas, said: “I’m really happy. I had a foul that would have contended for that third medal place for sure, definitely high 8.20s, but on paper that was the toughest European Championships in history,…