Agate Sousa Wins Gold: Portugal’s Long Jump Champion | Indoor Worlds 2024

Agate Sousa has won gold in the women’s long jump at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Toruń, Poland, on Sunday, March 22, 2026, becoming the first Portuguese athlete to claim a world title in the event in nearly two decades.

The 25-year-old Benfica athlete secured victory with a jump of 6.92 meters on her penultimate attempt, surpassing Italy’s Larissa Iapichino, the reigning European indoor champion, who finished with 6.87 meters. Colombia’s Natalia Linares took the bronze medal with a jump of 6.80 meters. Sousa’s performance marks a significant resurgence for Portuguese athletics in the long jump, echoing the success of Naide Gomes, who last won an indoor title in Valencia in 2008.

Sousa, who was naturalized as a Portuguese citizen in May 2024, began the final with a jump of 6.73 meters and maintained consistent form throughout the competition, also recording jumps of 6.81, and 6.82 meters. This represents Portugal’s sixth gold medal in indoor world championships and their 18th overall medal in the event’s history.

“The anthem touched my heart, I am much happier. After the competition, I still wasn’t realizing how big what I just did was,” Sousa confessed, according to Lusa. “I only have reasons to be happy, reasons to celebrate. While athletics is an individual sport, I want to thank everyone who was part of this journey. I am very grateful to have you in my life.”

Prior to this victory, Sousa achieved a personal best of 7.03 meters in 2023 while competing as a São Tomé athlete. She also secured a third-place finish at the European Athletics Championships in Rome in 2024. With a current global ranking of seventh, Sousa is now considered a strong contender for a medal at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.