Greek snatches long jump gold
TOKYO: Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece won the men’s long jump in the most dramatic fashion on Monday as he leapt 8.41m in his final attempt to snatch the gold medal from Cuba’s Juan Miguel Echevarria.
Tentoglou was the world leader coming into Tokyo with an 8.60m leap at a domestic competition in May, but struggled to find his form and was outside the medals positions as he hit the runway for the final time.
He hit the board perfectly to match the leading mark, with his second-best jump of 8.15m assuring him the gold by edging out the Cuban’s 8.09m.
A limping Echevarria had one more chance to improve on his second-best effort but pulled up, sinking to his knees at the board, before being comforted by compatriot Maykel Masso, who won bronze with 8.21.
“What an incredible competition. What an incredible jump, the last jump,” the Greek said after winning his country’s first ever long jump gold. “I wasn’t able to get it right at the start. But in the end I managed to pull something out to get the medal. I always have something left, something in reserve.”
Thirty years ago the greatestever long jump competition took place at the Tokyo National Stadium, the same site on which the Olympic Stadium now stands, when Mike Powell set the stillstanding world record of 8.95m after an epic world championship duel with American Carl Lewis. Spaniard Eusebio Caceres was looking set for bronze with his final leap of 8.18m before Tentoglou’s final jump.
Camacho-quinn wins gold for Puerto Rico
Jasmine Camacho-quinn of Puerto Rico powered ahead of American Keni Harrison in the women’s 100m hurdles, springing an upset and keeping the United States out of the win column at the Olympic track meet for yet another session.
Camacho-quinn finished in 12.37s for a .15s win — a blowout in such a short race — over the world-record holder, Harrison Kendra. Jamaica’s Megan Tapper finished third.
Puerto Rico, a US territory that competes under its own flag at the Olympics, has one more track gold medal than the deepest team at the Games as the meet approaches halfway point.
Camacho-quinn’s best time coming into the Olympics was 12.38. She ran a 12.26 in the semifinals that ranks fourth on the all-time list. Harrison is first on that all-time list. Her world record is 12.2.
The buildup to that mark in 2016 played out awkwardly. She finished fourth at Olympic trials and was denied the trip to Rio de Janeiro. A few weeks later, she traveled to London and set the world record, then returned home to watch the Americans sweep the podium.