Izmir Smajlaj

Izmir Smajlaj (born 29 March 1993) is an Albanian professional Olympic athlete who specialises in the long jump.[1] He won the gold medal at the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, the first gold medal for his country at a major athletics competition, setting a new national record of 8.08 metres in 2017.

Izmir Smajlaj

Personal information
Born	29 March 1993 Shkodër, Albania
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	89 kg (196 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Long jump
Club	Tirona
Coached by	Gjergj Ruli
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Albania European Indoor Championships 2017 Belgrade Long jump

His personal bests in the long jump are:

• 8.11 metres outdoors (-0.7 m/s wind, 2019), in Shkodër. ( new national record )
• 8.03 metres indoors (2017/2018) First place in long jump competition, gold medal at the Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships, Istanbul, Turkey
• 8.08 metres indoors (2017) – First place in long jump competition, gold medal at the European Athletics Indoor Championships, Belgrade, Serbia[1]
• 7.93 metres indoors (2018) – First place in long jump competition, gold medal at the Balkan Indoor Championships, Istanbul, Turkey
• 7.89 metres outdoors (2018) – First place in long jump competition, gold medal and best olympic athlete of the match at the Albanian Athletics Outdoor Championships, Elbasan, Albania
• 7.89 metres outdoors (2018) – First place in long jump competition, gold medal and title of "Best athlete male of the competition" at Small States of Europe, Liechtenstein

In addition, in the triple jump, he has a personal best of 16.30 metres outdoors (-0.2 m/s wind; 2016; Elbasan, Albania) and 15.15 metres indoors (2014; Tirana, Albania).[1] All the first three marks are current national records.

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Albania
2012	World Junior Championships	Barcelona, Spain	–	Long jump	NM
2013	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	24th (q)	Long jump	7.55 m
2014	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	22nd (q)	Long jump	7.56 m
2016	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	9th	Long jump	7.75 m
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	21st (q)	Long jump	7.72 m
2017	European Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	1st	Long jump	8.08 m
2018	Balkan Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	1st	Long jump	7.80 m
	Mediterranean Games	Tarragona, Spain	4th	Long jump	7.85 m
	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	10th	Long jump	7.83 m
	European Championship for small countries	Liechtenstein	1st[2]	Long jump	7.9 m

References

1. Izmir Smajlaj at World Athletics
2. "Smajlaj, gold medal in Lichtenstein". top-channel.tv. Retrieved 2018-12-19.