What do you call a 26-year-old athlete who has won everything on offer, is the reigning Olympic and World champion and considered among the greatest ever in his event?
An Indian might say Neeraj Chopra, but if you shift the continent and sport to long jump, he will answer Miltiadis Tentoglou.
The Greek jumper, like Chopra, kicks off his Olympic defence here in Doha and is focused more on easing into competition than jumping far.
“The motivation to continue comes from my love for the game, I still want to grow and get better and jump more, push my limits. It’s very early for me but I’m confident and I’m expecting something solid,” Tentoglou told Sportstar.
There is a lot more common between the Greek and Indian athletics icons, in fact, than just their ages or even achievements. Like Chopra, Tentoglou is among the handful of athletes back home at the top level and an inspiration to an entire generation. He is also someone who prefers to focus on pushing himself and his performances rather than eyeing any particular target. And, like the 90m club membership that Chopra wants but isn’t obsessed about, Tentoglou has set his sights on 8.75m as a dream distance.
Why 8.75m? “I just like this result. If I do that, it will be among the all-time top-five (8.74m is the current 5th best jointly). But it’s also because I believe I can do it. I have calculated and I know it is possible for me. I cannot say I can do an 8.90-95m, that’s maybe not possible for me right now. But 8.75, I see myself doing it,” he explained.
With a personal best of 8.60m, Tentoglou is still some distance from his dream jump. But he is in no hurry to reach there, aware that his stature in Greece doesn’t depend on numbers.
“The athletics scene there is similar to India. I would say we have 3-4 top level athletes like me or Emmanuel Karalis or Katerina Stefanidi (both pole vaulters) and the rest are trying to do better. But there are some young promising athletes too,” he admitted.
With Murali Sreeshankar as one of his friends from the sporting world, Tentoglou is impressed with the Indian jumpers in recent times.
“I honestly believe it’s because of Chopra. He inspired a lot of people in India. Of course it’s a big country with a big population but I see very good athletes, talented kids there. They have very good bodies, good balance. There may be others also but I can talk about jumps specially, and in the next few years you will have even more.
“Shankar is a very good friend, a nice guy and a talented jumper. Unfortunately he’s injured now but I wish him a speedy recovery. It’s never happened to me, luckily, in an Olympic year but getting injured so close to a big event is very painful and difficult. It’s heartbreaking,” he shrugged.
Idolising legendary Cuban long jumper Ivan Pedroso – one of only three men with an 8.90 plus jump (albeit non-ratified) and coach to Venezuelan legend Yulimar Rojas – and Russian high jumper Mariya Lasitskene, Tentoglou feels there is a lot common between elite athletes across the field.
“They are all very clever and smart, focused, they don’t care about what people say whether they do well or not, they have their own goals in their minds and, of course, confidence, that’s the key if you want to win consistently. A lot of people can win one time but staying at the top is harder than reaching there,” he declared.
The smartness, Tentoglou says, is not fluke but the hallmark of most top athletes. “You need to be smart to handle a lot of situations and pressure. The mobility of your body also I consider to be in the brain only. You have to be able to change things fast and adapt, to stay focused and in the zone,” he explained.
His own methods are quite straightforward to shut out the world during training or competitions. “I am trying to think about every single thing I do in training and outside of training, I have to be active all the time. You need to have the observation, to be able to see and understand things, to avoid things. When I go for competitions, I see a lot of long jump videos, mainly of Pedroso. I am also trying to be on the jump when I am relaxing, thinking exactly what my steps are going to be. I also like to play video games to stay relaxed,” he revealed.
Earlier in the day, he was asked about being the man to beat and Tentoglou had quipped, “That’s not for me to say but I know I am one of the best. The other guys know I can jump very well any time so I think I put pressure on them. Also, unlike pole vault, long jump you can finish in five minutes if you are too good.”
The warning shots have been fired.
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