by Matthew Kiernan
Croydon Harrier Elliot Safo withstood the pressure to be crowned European junior long jump champion in Italy on Friday.
The 19-year-old looked to have the gold medal sewn up after leaping to a third round personal best of 7.82m that was more than 30cm clear of his nearest rival.
But, in the fifth and penultimate round, he was eclipsed by Belgium’s Mathias Broothaerts who recorded a 7.84m effort to take the lead.
Safo kept his cool to respond immediately though and jumped another PB of 7.86m which was enough to take the title, won by reigning Olympic champion Greg Rutherford in 2005.
"I’m really happy – I went there for the win and a PB came with that," he said.
"My run up wasn’t perfect, I had to chop my stride to actually hit the board, and the other guys were all jumping really well.
"The Belgian had one round to go after I jumped 7.86m, so I was a little worried that he’d jump further – it was an anxious wait."
At the Schools International in Dublin, Whitgift School pupil Stefan Amokwandoh also leaped to a personal best when he won the triple jump for England with a 14.44m effort, 80cm clear of the rest of the field.
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