Antonios Merlos

Antonios Merlos (born 4 April 1999) is a Greek high jumper. He is a multiple-time national champion and won the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships.

Biography A footballer in his youth, Merlos was directed towards athletics in 2013 after coaches noted his ability in vertical leaps on the football field. Merlos made his international debut at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Tbilisi in 2015, where he was third overall with a best clearance of 2.06 metres. In 2017, Merlos improved his personal best to 2.20m to win the Greek U20 national title. That year, he moved to the United States, enrolling at the University of Georgia on a four-year scholarship, where he worked under Cypriot coach Petros Kyprianou.

In August 2020, he won his first outdoor senior title at the Greek Athletics Championships. He won the title again in 2023 alongside Antrea Mita, with both athletes clearing 2.19 metres. In September 2020, he improved his personal best to 2.24 metres competing at the Gala dei Castelli in Bellinzona, Switzerland. He competed for Greece at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, without advancing to the final.

In 2025, Merlos moved from his base in Thessaloniki to Athens to work at PAOK under coach Thodoris Dosis. Merlos competed at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands without qualifying to the final. He also competed for Greece at the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships in Madrid in June 2025, jumping 2.21 metres. He won the Greek national title again in August 2025.

In January 2026, Merlos cleared a lifetime best height of 2.27m for victory in the high jump at the Gorzow Jump Festival, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting. He placed eighth overall at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland in March 2026. In August 2026, he was a finalist at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England.

Competition record