The fourth title came not as a procession but as a wrestling match with the wind. Miltiadis Tentoglou jumped 8.44 metres at Alexander Stadium to become the first long jumper in the 94-year history of the European Athletics Championships to win four consecutive gold medals.
An early lead, then a response
The final on a gusty Birmingham evening kept the Greek on the back foot from the start. Switzerland's Simon Ehammer briefly held the lead at 8.29 metres after his second attempt, while Tentoglou opened with 8.27, 8.19 and another 8.27.
On each of those early jumps his take-off foot landed 18 to 20 centimetres behind the board's optimal point, a margin that eats into distance. The adjustment on his fourth attempt was stark: he reduced that gap to just five centimetres and launched the decisive leap.
Four cities, one unprecedented run
The streak began in Berlin in 2018 and rolled through Munich and Rome before reaching Birmingham. No other long jumper has won four European outdoor titles, a fact that places the 28-year-old alone in the championships' record books.
He qualified comfortably with 8.26 metres the day before, but the final became a grind. Once the gold was secure he passed his fifth attempt and skipped the sixth entirely, celebrations already beginning.
"This was one of the hardest finals I have ever done," he told reporters afterwards. "I am good in all conditions but this wind was so hard on us long jumpers."
Ehammer took silver on 8.29 metres and Bulgaria's Bozhidar Saraboyukov claimed bronze at 8.26. Tentoglou owns two Olympic golds as well, but he called this victory one of the most precious — a difficult season had preceded it, and Birmingham became what he called the start of winning golds again.
The wind never relented. The four-title mark now belongs to one man.
