Finland's Pyry Heiskanen produced a brilliant final-round leap to upend the field and snatch gold in the men's long jump at the Rieti 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships on Saturday (18).
Lying seventh and seemingly out of medal contention heading into the final round after an opening jump of 7.48m, Heiskanen suddenly uncorked a superb leap of 7.79m (1.6m/s) to take the lead.
The mark was a 21 centimetre improvement on his personal best of 7.58m which he set in the qualifying round, as well as a Finnish U18 record and a European U18 lead.
France's Maidis Gorrillot, the previous European U18 leader, had occupied the gold medal position since the third round with 7.71m (0.5m/s).
It was a dramatic and unexpected turn of events, and the French athlete could not respond. A final effort of 7.57m (1.7m/s) left him having to settle for silver.
Czechia's Otakar Vich claimed bronze with a third-round leap of 7.64m (0.9m/s).
But the night belonged to Heiskanen, who has also reached the semifinals of the men's 110m hurdles, which are scheduled for Sunday (19) afternoon, ahead of the evening's final.
Heiskanen: "I surprised myself today"
"I bet I surprised my opponents, but I can say I also surprised myself today," said the thrilled gold medallist.
"Yesterday, I had very bad feelings and issues with my body due to the heat, because I did not drink well. Now, I made sure I drink enough water to be more fresh. This result is a big surprise to me - even the first jump made me very happy. I do not have any words left.
"When I did that jump, it was just perfect. I felt it. The run up was so good and I knew it was going to be a big jump when I was in the air. But the 7.79m mark was not expected. I was hoping for 7.60m, not this. I am alone here but my friends and family are watching at home."
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