Georgia rising sophomore Antonios Merlos won the gold medal in the high jump at the IAAF World Under-20 Track & Field Championships in Tampere, Finland, on Friday.
Merlos, a native of Corinth, Greece, gave the Bulldogs a second medalist at the meet after clearing a personal-best mark of 7 feet, 3 ¾ inches to win the high jump. Merlos only had a single miss and five first-attempt clearances on his trip to gold.
This performance came after Merlos was ranked 31st coming into the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships in June and left with a fifth-place finish (7-1.75) for a First Team All-America certificate. Thanks in part to Merlos’ four points, the Georgia men left Eugene, Ore., with their first career national team championship.
On Friday, the Lady Bulldogs’ rising sophomore Tara Davis earned a bronze medal in the long jump at the meet.