Long Jump, Men

Jamaican Tajay Gayle was the 2019 World Champion and a slight favorite but he injured himself during qualifying, and although he did make the final, it was not certain if he would be able to compete. Cuban Juan Miguel Echevarria, the champion at Rio in 2016, was still considered a gold medal contender and led the qualifying with 8.50.

In the final, Gayle was obviously not at his best and would finish only 11th. Cuba’s Maykel Massó led after round one with 8.21 but Echevarria took over the lead in round three with 8.41. In round four American JuVaughn Harrison moved into third place with a mark of 8.15. Harrison had competed in the high jump final the night before the long jump final.

In the final round Spain’s Eusebio Cáceres moved out to 8.18 to settle in the bronze medal position. Greece’s Miltiádis Tentóglou then leapt 8.41, equalling Echevarria’s leader, but Tentóglou had a better second mark and took the lead. Echevarria needed only 26-9¼ (8.16) to defend his gold medal, a mark that seemed easy for him. But as he approached the board, something gave in his leg, and he fell to the ground in obvious discomfort, sobbing as he realized he had lost the gold medal to Tentóglou.

Massó won the bronze medal while Cáceres was fourth, and Harrison fifth. For Tentóglou this was the first medal ever in the long jump by a Greek athlete, although in 1912 Kostas Tsiklitiras had won gold in the standing long jump.