The satisfaction for long jumper Miltos Tentoglou in winning the gold medal in Paris exceeded even his prior gold in Tokyo, with the Greek star admitting that seeing the crowd made it more special.
Tentoglou became Greece’s first gold medallist at the Paris Olympics and, in the process, secured his second gold medal after winning in Tokyo.
The Greek long jumper explained to ERT that this time was an even sweeter victory as he was able to go out on the podium in front of people.
“It is a very beautiful medal,” Tentoglou said following his podium celebration.
He expressed his joy at hearing the National Anthem play, which he said bears more significance when it is played at the Olympics.
“I liked it even more today because there were people in the stands this time, whereas in Tokyo there were none. There was my mother and my sister. It is special,” the Greek champion said before adding: “I am happy to be here and I was proud to see the Greek flag across from me.”
Tentoglou stressed he was content with his jumps even though he believed his form was not great, and he revealed his own theory as to why.
“I had an issue the last few days, I do not know if I should say it, with the shoes. I had to wear a new pair of shoes and I did not have time to get used to them. I did not have as much confidence as I usually have [due to] that part.”
