Deji Ogeyingbo wrote this piece on Mattia Furlani, the Italian lengthy leap star who would be the world chief in 2025 and who simply turned 21!
Mattia Furlani Steps Up because the Subsequent Lengthy Bounce Star
If you see one in Sport, it’s simple to determine a expertise. Mattia Furlani is one such athlete who falls into such classes. The Lengthy Jumper has received each doable title at varied 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 changing into the undisputed primary within the males’s Lengthy Bounce.
Within the last moments of the lengthy leap competitors in Torun, Furlani stood on the prime of the runway. He had led many of the evening however knew one last leap might seal one thing greater. 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 type of second that shifts the stability in a sport. Tentoglou had been the undisputed king of males’s lengthy leap for years. He confirmed up at each main championship and located a solution 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 question. A 34-centimeter margin on the end wasn’t only a victory. It was a press release.
Furlani has been constructing towards this for years. He dominated the junior ranges as a teen, 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 method to competitors is completely different now. There’s a sense of management in how he jumps, a rising confidence from understanding he belongs on the prime. He led the competitors early with an 8.21-meter leap within the third spherical, staying forward whereas others struggled to search out their rhythm. Then, within the last spherical, when the strain was highest, he delivered essentially the most vital leap of his profession. That type of composure is uncommon for somebody so younger.
Large performances like this don’t occur accidentally. Furlani has labored behind the scenes, refining his approach and fine-tuning his method. Lengthy leap isn’t nearly velocity and energy—it’s about precision. A fraction of a second too early or too late on the takeoff board will be the distinction between a private finest and a foul. Furlani’s potential 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 be recent air for the boys’s lengthy leap. For years, the occasion has lacked true rivalries. Juan Miguel Echevarría was one athlete who introduced a bit of fireplace to the occasion, however since his hiatus, Tentoglou has dominated, successful constantly with no clear challenger. Followers have been ready for somebody to step up, to inject some unpredictability into the boys’s Lengthy Bounce. 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 prime of the occasion has shifted.
After all, one win doesn’t outline a profession. Tentoglou isn’t going anyplace, and the lengthy leap is an occasion the place consistency is every part. 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 only the start. At 20 years outdated, Furlani remains to be growing. His approach can enhance. His bodily energy will improve. He hasn’t reached his peak but, which must be a scary thought for his rivals. If he’s already leaping 8.37 meters now, what’s going to he be able to in a 12 months? Two years?
With the World Indoor Championships quick approaching, all eyes shall be on him. Can he lastly get his first massive win on the massive stage? Can he take that subsequent step from silver and bronze to Gold? If Torun was any indication, the reply could be sure.
