Deji Ogeyingbo wrote this piece on Mattia Furlani, the Italian lengthy bounce star who would be the world chief in 2025 and who simply turned 21!
Mattia Furlani Steps Up because the Subsequent Lengthy Soar Star
Once you see one in Sport, it’s straightforward to determine a expertise. Mattia Furlani is one such athlete who falls into such classes. The Lengthy Jumper has received each doable title at numerous age classes and has made the leap to the senior class about two years in the past. He’s now on the verge of displacing one of the best within the occasion and turning into the undisputed primary within the males’s Lengthy Soar.
Within the remaining moments of the lengthy bounce competitors in Torun, Furlani stood on the high of the runway. He had led many of the night time however knew one remaining leap may seal one thing larger. He sprinted down the monitor, hit the board completely, and soared. When he landed, the scoreboard flashed: 8.37 meters. A brand new Italian indoor report. A gathering report. And, most significantly, a commanding win over world and Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou.
It was the sort of second that shifts the steadiness in a sport. Tentoglou had been the undisputed king of males’s lengthy bounce for years. He confirmed up at each main championship and located a strategy to win. The Greek celebrity all the time delivered, whether or not on the Olympics, World Championships, or the largest meets on the circuit. However this time, Furlani didn’t simply beat him; he left little doubt. A 34-centimeter margin on the end wasn’t only a victory. It was an announcement.
Furlani has been constructing towards this for years. He dominated the junior ranges as a youngster, successful each main title. He jumped to the senior stage in 2023; by 2024, he was already proving he belonged. Final 12 months, he received silver on the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow and adopted it up with a bronze on the Paris Olympics. These podium finishes confirmed his potential. However in Torun, he confirmed one thing extra. He revealed that he was able to take over.
His strategy to competitors is totally different now. There’s a sense of management in how he jumps, a rising confidence from understanding he belongs on the high. He led the competitors early with an 8.21-meter bounce within the third spherical, staying forward whereas others struggled to search out their rhythm. Then, within the remaining spherical, when the strain was highest, he delivered essentially the most important bounce of his profession. That sort of composure is uncommon for somebody so younger.
Massive performances like this don’t occur accidentally. Furlani has labored behind the scenes, refining his approach and fine-tuning his strategy. Lengthy bounce isn’t nearly velocity and energy—it’s about precision. A fraction of a second too early or too late on the takeoff board could be the distinction between a private greatest and a foul. Furlani’s skill to get it proper when it mattered most was the clearest signal but that he’s able to problem one of the best.
Furlani’s rise can also be contemporary air for the boys’s lengthy bounce. For years, the occasion has lacked true rivalries. Juan Miguel Echevarría was one athlete who introduced a bit of fireside to the occasion, however since his hiatus, Tentoglou has dominated, successful persistently with out a clear challenger. Followers have been ready for somebody to step up, to inject some unpredictability into the boys’s Lengthy Soar. In Torun, Furlani gave them that. He didn’t simply push Tentoglou; he beat him convincingly. And now, heading into the World Indoor Championships, the dynamic on the high of the occasion has shifted.
In fact, one win doesn’t outline a profession. Tentoglou isn’t going wherever, and the lengthy bounce is an occasion the place consistency is all the pieces. A single meet doesn’t make Furlani the brand new king of the occasion. However how he competed in Torun suggests this wasn’t a one-off efficiency. With each competitors, he’s getting higher, extra assured, and extra harmful.
There’s additionally a way that that is just the start. At 20 years previous, Furlani remains to be creating. His approach can enhance. His bodily power will improve. He hasn’t reached his peak but, which needs to be a scary thought for his opponents. If he’s already leaping 8.37 meters now, what is going to he be able to in a 12 months? Two years?
With the World Indoor Championships quick approaching, all eyes might be on him. Can he lastly get his first large win on the large stage? Can he take that subsequent step from silver and bronze to Gold? If Torun was any indication, the reply could be sure.
