Chondrokoukis jumps to the top of the world

Greek high-jumper Dimitris Chondrokoukis is the new world indoor champion as on Sunday he cleared 2.33 meters to claim gold at the World Track and Field Championship in Istanbul.

The 24-year-old Olympiakos athlete registered a new personal record, upsetting the event’s favorites to win his first major honors on the global stage.

He had gone to Istanbul with a 2.29-meter personal record in the indoor men’s high jump and a 2.32 m record in the outdoor event, but cleared 2.33 m at his first attempt, which none of his opponents managed.

One of them was another Greek, Costas Baniotis, who remarkably finished fourth in the world with a jump of 2.31 meters.

Chondrokoukis’s was the eighth medal in the country’s history in the world indoor championships, and the fourth gold.

In the long jump, Louis Tsatoumas finished sixth in the world with his best effort at 7.88 meters, while in the pole vault Costas Filippidis ended up seventh after clearing 5.70 meters.

Ekathimerini.com