Agate De Sousa leapt to her maiden major gold with 6.92m in the women’s long jump to also claim Portugal’s first medal of the championships on Sunday (22).
She put out a consistent series with an opening jump of 6.73m before bettering her mark in the third round and again in the fifth with her best jump of the day.
Despite her best jump coming in the last round with 6.87m, Larissa Iapichino was just bumped out of the top spot but took her first world medal with a silver.
“Today I did not think about my opponents and, in my mind, just competed with myself and nobody else,” De Sousa said.
“I came here to jump seven metres and that was all I had in my mind. It did not come today but I know that it will come again.
“I came out here with high ambitions of jumping a national record and I am no different to other athletes in feeling I am able to jump seven metres or further.
“Unfortunately, it has been a painful process because I have been dealing with injury for quite some time. This is a gold medal so I am sure it will change my life in a positive way.
“This medal is also for all the Portuguese people who support me. Now, I will rest, forget a little bit about the track and be ready for the next.”
De Sousa also became the second Portuguese woman to win this title, with Naide Gomes having taken the title in 2008 with a national indoor record of 7.00m, which the 2026 champion fell just shy of.
Colombia’s Natalia Linares completed the podium, narrowly edging out Sweden’s Khaddi Sagnia who’s best mark of 6.78m, also her best jump in four years, came in the first round.