Record-setting Bol, unstoppable Tentoglou and Holloway feels comfortable

On Saturday in Glasgow, Record-setting Femke Bol proved unstoppable. Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece successfully defended his World Indoor Long Jump Championship, while American sprinter Grant Holloway comfortably advanced to the semi-finals of the 60-meter hurdles. Julien Alfred and Ewa Swoboda in 60m semi-finals.

Once again, Bol captivated the audience, as the two-time world champion in the 400m hurdles surpassed her own world indoor record by clocking 49.17 seconds to secure victory in the 400m race. From start to finish, she led with exceptional running prowess, showcasing an outstanding performance. "It was amazing. It was such a strong race. I knew I had to go out fast," said the Dutch athlete after sending a warning to potential rivals at this summer's Paris Olympics.

Olympic, World and European champion Tentoglou soared to a remarkable distance of 8.22 meters on his initial attempt. This mark allowed him to defend his title obtained in Belgrado, Serbia, two years ago. He is the man to beat in this competition. Since 2018, the Greek got the gold medal in every major championship he competed in, 10, less Eugene’s (USA) World Champion that he was silver. Miltiadis Tentoglou is the favourite to take gold in Paris 2024.

Italy's 19-year-old contender, Mattia Furlani, secured the silver medal with the same mark that Tentoglou did to become the youngest long jump medallist in the history of the World Indoor Championships. Jamaican athlete Carey McLeod clinched the bronze with a leap measuring 8.21 meters. Despite the gold medal, Greek Athlete wasn’t happy with the mark he did: "This result does not mean anything to me. I did not like the competition today; it was really bad for me. I jumped terribly. The morning final was like a 'dog shit'," he said.



Tentoglou criticized World Athletics' "take-off zone" suggestion in the long jump to eliminate foul jumps. Jumpers must launch themselves from behind a designated wooden board, with any part of their foot going over. The proposed change would involve measuring the distance from the take-off point within a designated zone to the landing point, making all jumps count. "I consider long jump to be one of the hardest events because of the board and the accuracy you need," Tentoglou stated. "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.

"So, if they want to remove this, the long jump would be the easiest event. If that happens, I will not do long jump anymore. I will be a triple jumper," concluded Tentoglou.

Holloway, the three-time World Champion in the 110-meter hurdles and Olympic silver medallist, advanced with 7.43sec in the first round of hurdles. The 26-year-old, fresh off surpassing his own world record in the 60-meter hurdles last month, remains unbeaten in indoor track races since March 2014. This remarkable record spans 73 races.

"This race was uneventful for me," said Holloway. "I was doing really well, I've just been running 7.3s (this year), so that was my first 7.4 of the season. My biggest goal was just to get out here and get a feel for the track. Obviously, my plan is to just go faster for the final. But whatever the time stops at, my main goal to is get out here and get the win."

Lastly, favourites Julien Alfred of St Lucia and Poland's Ewa Swoboda both safely negotiated their heats, each in 7.02sec, to progress into the semi-finals of the women's 60m.