Miltiadis Tentoglou produced a spectacular performance to equal the Greek national long jump record with a leap of 8.66 metres, joining Louis Tsatoumas at the top of the all-time list.

The Olympic and world champion delivered a competition that could hardly have gone better, matching the mark twice. His second-round effort was initially measured at 8.66m but was ruled ineligible for record purposes because of a favourable 2.7m/s tailwind. He then landed at exactly the same distance in his third attempt, this time with a legal wind reading, officially equalling the national record set by Tsatoumas 19 years ago.

The performance also gave Tentoglou the world-leading mark for 2026, improving on the previous best — which was also held by the Greek star.

Tentoglou had opened the competition with an impressive 8.52m, aided by a legal 1.1m/s wind. After matching 8.66m in his second jump, he produced another historic effort in the third round. His reaction reflected both relief and a hint of frustration, as he appeared to believe he had more in him.

His fourth attempt was unsuccessful, while the fifth was a foul. He closed the competition in style, however, recording 8.64m with a legal 0.7m/s tailwind. In total, he registered three jumps beyond 8.60m and four over 8.50m — an extraordinary display of consistency at the highest level.

Thousands of spectators who had gathered to watch the Greek superstar erupted in celebration, and Tentoglou rewarded them with a performance to remember.

The record he equalled had stood since June 2, 2007, when Tsatoumas produced a stunning 8.66m at the Papaflessia international meeting in Kalamata. Tsatoumas won the competition by 46 centimetres, finishing well ahead of Cuba’s Luis Felipe Meliz (8.20m) and Ukraine’s Oleksiy Lukashevych (8.11m).

For nearly two decades, the mark remained untouched, even as Tentoglou established himself as one of the dominant figures in world long jump. Now, the two Greek stars share a place in the record books.