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
While 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 potential 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 the most effective within the occasion and changing into the undisputed primary within the males’s Lengthy Soar.
Within the last moments of the lengthy bounce competitors in Torun, Furlani stood on the prime of the runway. He had led a lot of the night time however knew one last 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 document. A gathering document. And, most significantly, a commanding win over world and Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou.
It was the form of second that shifts the stability 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 a press release.
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 yr, 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 totally different now. There’s a sense of management in how he jumps, a rising confidence from realizing he belongs on the prime. He led the competitors early with an 8.21-meter bounce within the third spherical, staying forward whereas others struggled to seek out their rhythm. Then, within the last spherical, when the strain was highest, he delivered essentially the most vital bounce of his profession. That form of composure is uncommon for somebody so younger.
Huge performances like this don’t occur by chance. Furlani has labored behind the scenes, refining his method and fine-tuning his method. 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 finest and a foul. Furlani’s capacity to get it proper when it mattered most was the clearest signal but that he’s able to problem the most effective.
Furlani’s rise can be recent air for the lads’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 lads’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 prime of the occasion has shifted.
After all, one win doesn’t outline a profession. Tentoglou isn’t going wherever, and the lengthy bounce is an occasion the place consistency is the whole lot. 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 outdated, Furlani continues to be growing. His method can enhance. His bodily energy will enhance. He hasn’t reached his peak but, which ought 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 yr? 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 large stage? Can he take that subsequent step from silver and bronze to Gold? If Torun was any indication, the reply may be sure.
