ISTANBUL – His joy tempered by the rail tragedy in Tempi, champion Greek long jumper Miltos Tentoglou appeared before the state broadcaster ERT with mixed feelings after winning a gold medal at the European Indoor Athletics Championship in Istanbul on Sunday.

“What happened was tragic. I am ashamed to speak. What Nyfantopoulos said was the best: that we may be competing here but no one can ease the pain of these people. I do not know where I should dedicate this victory,” he said.

He thanked the Greek supporters for the wonderful atmosphere they created in the stadium for all athletes on the Greek team, including himself.

Asked to comment on the fact that he was the first European long jumper to win three gold medals in successive meets, the Greek Olympic medallist said: “It is important for me and I am glad I achieved this. I was not that good, it was an early start. I tried my best and had a good jump but it was invalid. I normally do the biggest jump first and if this had been an evening event I would certainly have jumped 8.5 metres. I am not unbeatable, in European games, I’m OK but today I could have lost because I was not my best self. That’s how games are, the favourites lose and the outsiders can do something good.”

Regarding his next goals, Tentoglou said his sights were set on a Greek record and a gold medal at the world championships in Budapest.