Andhra Athlete maintains National Record but falls short of direct Olympic berth
India's top hurdler Jyothi Yarraji showed her class once again by equalling her own national record at the Monet Grand Prix in Finland on Monday. However, missing the direct qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics by a narrow margin of 0.1 seconds has left her determined to push her limits further.
The 24-year old athlete from Andhra Pradesh clocked an impressive timing of 12.78 seconds in the 100m hurdles event despite a minor stumble in the final hurdle. This helped her match her own national record she set earlier. However, to directly qualify for the upcoming Paris Games, she needed to dip under the 12.67 seconds mark.
Always striving for excellence, Jyothi feels there is still scope for improvement despite her consistent sub-13 second timings in the past year. She has tasted success at competitions across Asia but securing an Olympic berth remains the biggest focus currently. Currently training in Europe under coach James Hillier, Jyothi is leaving no stone unturned in her preparations.
A key change recently has been tweaking her starting technique from 8 strides to 7 for the first hurdle. Though a small adjustment, it required tremendous effort to relearn the muscle memory of 10 years. Her coach noticed she was approaching too close to the first hurdle earlier. The new approach is already benefiting her navigation of hurdles 3 and 4.
Coach Hillier believes with a clean run, the national record could have been bettered by another 0.1 seconds on Monday. Going forward, more international exposure and focused training will help Jyothi come closer to securing Olympics qualification in upcoming events.
While efforts on the field continue to bring laurels, adjusting to the European lifestyle and cuisine has been the toughest challenge for the food lover so far away from home delicacies. However, she remains dedicated to make the most of this opportunity as her Olympic dream still remains in progress.
