In his statements, Miltos Tedoglou said that he hopes to hold the Greek flag at the Opening Ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympic Games, while he talked about the second gold he won at the OA and what he enjoys most in his sport.
What Tedoglou said in detail at a sporting goods company event:
For the final: “It was a difficult match, with a good result. It’s never easy to win, it was a tough final. The pressure at the Olympics is really high, so I’m very happy that I managed to achieve something big.”
For being the first Greek track and field athlete to win a second gold medal: “This is unbelievable. We have a lot of legends and a lot of great athletes in our history, so to be included and to be one of them is amazing for me. I never expected this to happen. I am very happy to achieve this and to make my country proud.”
On how he handles the pressure of being a Greek athlete at the Olympics: “The Olympic Games are very important for my country, because the Greeks invented them. I am very excited about it. It’s normal to feel pressure. It’s very high because everyone here expects you to perform well. It’s very difficult, but I’m managing it.”
On how he managed to make the big leap: “It happened because I have worked a lot. I have a lot of faith in myself. I have no doubts about me. I know what I am capable of achieving. I just tried to perform. I concentrated, I didn’t hear anything and I just made the jump.”
For his latest jumps: “I’ve said it before, the last jump is usually a very good jump. This is because the adrenaline is so high and I made sure to win the previous 20 games in my last attempt. In this, no one knows what can happen. Not just for me, but for all athletes. It’s something else, something different.”
On what inspires him to perform at such a high level: “I think it’s more about myself. I always try to improve, I always want to find ways to improve and become better. Of course I also love my sport and I always try to do my best. I participate in every event, I don’t miss any. Outdoor, indoor, everything. I do it because I love what I do, I love my job.”
For the titles he wins in each tournament he participates in: “I never thought I could reach this high. I hold all the titles now so I will try to defend them. I’ve held every title for a year now and I’ll try to keep doing that.”
For what he’s most proud of, flying the flag or being on top of the world: “For me it’s being on top of the world. Because with that, comes the other part, carrying the flag. It is very difficult to be at the top and make the country proud. Of course I want to fly the flag, hopefully I’ll be able to do that in Los Angeles. I want to do it, I want to hold the flag at the opening ceremony, if possible of course”.
On what he enjoys most about the sport: “The most important thing is to enjoy the sport, put on great performances and have great performances. If I do the performance I want, I don’t care if I get the silver medal, because the performance is what matters most. When I was young, I watched the old athletes, the legends. I still do. I always say that if they can do something, I can do it. I did it and I believe many athletes can do it too. But they will have to do the hard work, but it is very likely that they will succeed.”
On whether he is the best Greek of all time in the long jump: “Yes, I can say that I am the best of all time in Greece in the long jump. But I don’t want to compare myself with other athletes of different sports. But in the long jump, I agree.”
To compare with his presence in Tokyo: “I think it was better than the Tokyo Games, because there I only did one really good jump. Everything else wasn’t so good. This time I was good in every effort I made from start to finish.”
On hearing the support he had from the crowd at the Stade de France: “No, because I’m trying to concentrate and not listen to anything. But then, when it was all over, the atmosphere was amazing.”
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