Olympic long jump champion vows to quit if World Athletics goes ahead with new amendments

The reigning Olympic long jump champion, Miltiadis Tentoglou, has slammed proposals to revolutionise his event as “dog s---” and promised to quit if they are implemented.

The 25-year-old Greek added the world indoor title in Glasgow on Saturday to the outdoor crown he won in Budapest last year but plans to switch to the triple jump if a trial that will replace the traditional take-off board with a take-off zone was ever formally introduced.

“It’s dog s---,” said Tentoglou. “If the [proposed] rules are applied, I will stop doing long jump. Long jump right now is a very difficult event because you need to have accuracy, to be able to run like a sprinter and hit the board perfectly. This is the hard part about the long jump.

“The jump itself is very easy. It would remove all the skills. I think nobody likes it – [among the] the long jumpers – [except] maybe some guys who do a lot of fouls. It’s so bad, it’s funny. Thank god that the triple jump exists because that is what I am doing after this happens.”

 World Athletics have said that they must “future-proof” the sport to make it more appealing to younger generations and have stressed that this is only one of several potential ideas after research found that a third of all long jumps at last year’s World Championships were fouls.

Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, remains adamant that wider change is imperative and Michael Johnson, the former Olympic 200-meter and 400-meter champion, has this week announced a partnership with the company Winners Alliance to create a new track league.

“Our sport is 150 years old – there are elements that are sacrosanct,” said Coe. “There is stuff there that leaves people a little cold. This isn’t anti-field events – we are trying to make sure both elements move forward at the same pace. I’m not saying it’s the only remedy [but] we are not going to back off innovation.

“The hold grail of every sport is to remain salient, interesting, and exciting to young people. We have to recognise that the way people consume sport, the way they consume entertainment, is different than even three years ago.”

Tentoglou says that his view, as the outstanding long jumper of this current generation, has not been sought. “I’m the Olympic champion, the world champion, and my opinion does not even matter,” he said. “We would like some more respect.”

Asked if he would speak to the governing body if he was invited, Tentoglou said: “Yes, but I would be very brutal to them.”