World Athletics Championships: Furlani gold in long jump, Italy first

Mattia Furlani won Italy's first gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo: the Italian won it in the long jump final, measuring 8.39 metres, his personal best. Furlani, 20, had started with a nil jump but in the fifth he improved his personal best by one centimetre, setting a new one at 8.39 and overtaking Jamaican Gayle, silver at 8.34, and Chinese Shi, bronze with 8.33.

The Italian had already won the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing 2025, and was a bronze medallist at the Beijing Olympics. Immediately after the last jump, Furlani went to celebrate with his staff and his coach mother, wrapped in a tricolour flag. 'Number one, we are number one,' he shouted to his staff.

"I still don't know if it's real, until I hear the anthem I don't believe it. Something magical happened tonight, we managed the race perfectly, we adjusted everything jump by jump until we got this incredible result." Thus Mattia Furlani. "For this result I have to thank so many people, my mother first of all, my girlfriend, my sister, but all of Italy who supported me. It is a magical year, but it is only the beginning".