After a 2025 season which was blighted by illness and injury, Miltiadis Tentoglou opened his 2026 season in excellent form on home soil in Paiania on Saturday (24).
Tentoglou achieved his best ever season’s opener, bounding out to 8.25m at the Paiania Hall near Athens. He also achieved valid marks of 8.12m and 8.15m before improving to 8.25m with his fifth attempt, just four centimetres shy of the world lead at this early juncture of the season.
"I didn't pressure myself for anything. From the beginning I made good jumps. All the jumps, even the invalid ones, were between 8.15-8.20m. I knew I was in good shape. I like that such jumps come out so relaxed. This is my base now. It's not that I made a jump of 7.80m like I might do on a debut. I usually do that," analysed Tentoglou.
The two-time Olympic champion will make his international season’s debut at the Czech Indoor Gala in Ostrava on 3 February where he will go head-to-head with Italy’s Mattia Furlani who succeeded Tentoglou as both world indoor and outdoor champion in 2025.
Aside from the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Kujawy Pomorze from 20-22 March, Tentoglou will also be targeting a record fourth successive men’s long jump title at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham from 10-16 August.
Tentoglou won his third title in Rome two years ago, setting a championship record and lifetime best - but not a Greek record which still belongs to Louis Tsatamous at 8.66m - of 8.65m to defeat a 19-year-old Furlani.
Other notable performances in Peania included Rafailia Spanoudaki-Chatziriga winning the 60m in 7.25.
Elsewhere around Europe...
Racing as a senior for the first time, three-time European U20 cross country champion Innes FitzGerald clocked 8:47.32 in a mixed 3000m in Cardiff on Sunday (25).
Only 17, European U20 4x400m champion Tomas Horak clocked a fast 46.36 in a 400m in Prague on Sunday. His time was a Czech indoor U20 record and places him third on the European U20 all-time list.
European 110m hurdles champion Lorenzo Simonelli opened his season with a 6.66 clocking in the 60m in Ancona on Sunday.
Paula Sevilla and Bianca Hervas, both of whom were part of Spain's victorious team in the 4x400m at the World Relays, were in good early season individual form in Salamanca on Saturday.
Sevilla won the 200m in an indoor lifetime best of 23.11 and Hervas won the 400m in 52.14. David Garcia won the men's 400m in 46.43.
2022 European decathlon champion Niklas Kaul opened his season with performances in individual events in Ludwigshafen on Saturday. Kaul threw 15.03m in the shot put and clocked 8.22 in the 60m hurdles at his regional indoor championships.
Hungary's Dominik Illovsky equalled his 60m lifetime best with 6.58 in Nyiregyhaza on Saturday.
Kreete Verlin set an Estonian 60m hurdles record of 8.05 at the Estonian Cup in Tallinn on Saturday while world U18 record-holder Allika Inkeri Moser cleared 4.20m in the pole vault.