Listening to how he repeatedly said this, and if you isolate his sporting exploits, then it seems reasonable. He holds himself and walks around with “what am I doing here?” seems to be relaxed. His gaze, sparkling one moment, seems to run away and disappear into the void the next. He utters the words with characteristic ignorance of the danger and without superfluous.

But even if you write down not only what he achieved, but also how the 25-year-old athletics champion achieved it, I would say that they were made without effort, as if performances and medals found him, and not he found them after the necessary effort.

From parkour to “miracle» Olympic Games

He started his career somewhat by accident in long jump, when the coach saw him doing it… parkour on the stage Grevenon, where is his city He was 15 years old.

At the age of 22, having won several gold medals at the European Championships, Miltos Tedoglu “worked a miracle”. After five moderate jumps in Olympic Games from Tokyo 2020 (what happened in the morning) and while he remained off the podium, Tendoglu in his last jump “arrived” at 20.41. tying Cuban Juan Miguel Echevarria. Unless the second jump of the Greek athlete was better, which provided him with a gold medal.

As if the “swift” victory wasn’t enough, Tedoglu made a triumphant hand gesture that caused those unfamiliar with Japanese pop culture to look up. And that’s because it was his signature move. luffy, the hero of the most popular anime “One piece” – said the otaku in the end. A little later, he also searched how he got to the top, wondering: “What did I do? What did I do?” as it was a “very bad match” and “Echevarria should have won because he was better.”

This was the moment when Tedoglu became for the Greeks not only a face of joy and pride, but also a source of “instant meme” material along with the unofficial stamp that we are not only dealing with the best athlete, but also someone who seems to be “one of us” because he speaks unusually tough for a public figure who is far from ready-made statements.

One more centimeter

Fast forward 2023 And run her Poland. European honors and records were mediated ( 2022 with a jump 8.52 m at the European Championships in Munich, secured gold and a match record) and Miltos Tedoglu is ready for the next victory in Cup of Copernicus. His sportsman Yorgos Pomaski go to 20:40 where was – at that moment – the best result in the world this year.

However, after a few days, the jump is considered invalid from World Federation of Athletics because of… inappropriate shoes. Tedoglu’s response was twofold: in a social media post, he stated outraged by the decision of the Federation, condemning her unfairly and almost threateningly writing that he can jump 8.40 whenever he wants.

And then came the best performance. On the same day after the cancellation, Tedoglu attacked 8.41 m at a meeting in Levin her France. It was not only the best performance, but it a centimeter higher was the statement. It was as if Tedoglu was saying that I can jump whenever I want, for as long as I want, exactly the extra centimeter needed to break my own record and show you that no wrong shoes can stop me.

Twenty days after all this, the unstoppable athlete appeared European Indoor Championships V Constantinople. With a “comfortable” first jump into 20:30 Miltos Tedoglu won the gold medal in the long jump at the European stage for the third time in his career, thus becoming the first athlete to do so.

The match took place in the morning. And the victory of the Greek champion came at the end of the week, thickly covered with a veil of tragedy in Tempi. It was absolutely certain that Tedoğlu would be asked about this in statements after the match.

In addition to reminding that he was “walking” at 8.30 and that if the race had been at night he would have been “flying” at 8.50, the gold athlete was frugal and measured, referring to a national tragedy. Very simple, he said he was ashamed – the moment he made the country proud again in a very difficult situation – and that It is better to remain silent at this time. He also avoided dedicating the medal somewhere along with a co-demonstration of “light” emotions.

All this comfort that characterizes Milto Tedoglu in what he does and what he says makes one wonder if he is not simply aware of the weight of his successes, and also how much the world depends on each of his new statements, or simply, precisely because he is very savvy about it all, he tries to keep his “trademark” as much as possible.

The important thing is that each “high flight” of Tedoglu lands not only on the podium, but also on public positions, which – for their spontaneity and “coolness” – they are ultimately weighed in every word and firmly planted on the ground.

Maybe that’s why we love him so much. It could be a kid waiting for practice to end so he can go home and watch his favorite anime. He may even be a lark.