Sreeshankar Murali secured his spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics by capturing a silver medal in the men’s long jump event at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok. His impressive leap of 8.37m marked his sixth top-three finish in 2023, including a remarkable third-place achievement in the Diamond League’s Paris leg. This jump stands as the second-best of his career, just shy of his 8.41m performance at the Inter State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar last month. Sreeshankar Murali also ranks as the joint-fifth-best long jump of the year, with his compatriot Jeswin Aldrin still holding the world lead at 8.42m earlier in the Asian Athletics.
It is worth noting that the qualification period for the Paris Olympics for individual events commenced on July 1, with the long jump mark set at 8.27m. Therefore, Sreeshankar’s remarkable jump has now secured his qualification for his second Olympic Games. In Tokyo, he fell short of qualifying for the finals with a best jump of 7.69m in the qualification phase.
Taking the gold medal at the event was Yu Tang Lin from Chinese Taipei, who leaped 8.40m. Once again, Sreeshankar narrowly missed out on the top spot, echoing his experience at last year’s Commonwealth Games. Zhang Mingkun of China secured third place with an 8.08m jump.
During this competition, Sreeshankar delivered an outstanding performance, recording five jumps over 8m. This significant improvement is a stark contrast to his disappointing showing at the Lausanne Diamond League, where he finished fifth with a best jump of 7.88m. Sreeshankar’s success can be attributed, in part, to the stability of his run-up. His distinctive lean-back motion, coiling his body tightly before propelling himself across 17 long strides, culminated in a powerful leap off the board, soaring through the air with his arms windmilling. Notably, achieving two of his longest jumps ever in the past two months speaks volumes about his progress.
The immediate aftermath of his silver-winning jump revealed Sreeshankar’s raw emotions. With a quick glance to see where he had landed and a confirmation of a clean jump from the raised white flag, he did something unprecedented. A guttural scream erupted from him, seemingly unending, as he celebrated his accomplishment.
Now consistently competing at the highest level, Sreeshankar aims to maintain his momentum as he prepares for the upcoming Asian Games, scheduled to commence in late September this year.
