Italy celebrates its first gold at the Tokyo 2025 athletics World Cup thanks to an amazing Mattia Furlani, a young talent born in 2005 who wrote a new page in the history of blue sport. With an extraordinary jump to 8.39 meters, the young champion not only conquered the top step of the podium, but also improved his personal record and became the youngest gold ever in the long male with his 20 years, better than Carl Lewis (22 years old).
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The decisive jump
The race had not started in the best way: the first attempt was in fact void. But Furlani did not let himself be intimidated and, in the fifth jump, he found the perfect size. With that more centimeter, he passed the Jamaican Tajay Gayle, stopped at 8.34, and the Chinese Shi Yuhao, third with 8.33. His scream and embrace with the staff, wrapped in the tricolor, kicked off the big party for gold. Addressing the technical staff, he shouted: “Numbers one, we are the numbers one“.
Mattia Furlani: “Until I hear the hymn, I don’t believe it”
Posted by Gianfranco Milani on Wednesday, September 17, 2025
A career on the rise
Despite the very young age, Furlani already has a Palmarès of absolute importance. In 2024 he had conquered bronze at the Paris Olympics and the silver at the Glasgow indoor world championships. In March 2025 the world championship title of Nanchino, a prelude to the Tokyo triumph, had then arrived. With these successes, the Rieti is confirmed as one of the most promising faces of world athletics and a point of reference for the new generation of Azzurri. And for those who love statistics, with Tokyo’s gold, Furlani has become the youngest Italian to win medals in the 5 great events (Olympics, Outdoor and Indoor World Championships, European Outdoor and Indoor).
From the origins to the world podium
Born in Marino and raised in Rieti, Mattia is the son of art: the father has been an altist and his mother, a sprinter of Senegalese origins, today he also follows him as a coach. After a childhood divided between basketball and athletics, he definitively chose the platform, putting a natural talent and an unparalleled dedication to good use. With the world title and the Italian primacy, Furlani confirms a path of growth that seems to have no limits. And today our country applauds his new champion, aware of having found in him a protagonist destined to shine for a long time.
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